Abersoch, Take Two
by Ttoes15951
Summary: My take on how this story should have unfolded after Tilly and Jen had ended due to the polaroid discovery. I outlined this story before I knew how things were going to work out, I only knew they would be in Abersoch together.
1. Chapter 1

Jen's eyes blinked open, she could hear shouting downstairs. She could always hear shouting downstairs. Her eyes struggled to focus on the late summer sunlight filtering through the curtains. She looked at the clock, it was after ten. She had been sleeping later and later as the summer wore on, reverting back to student life again. She missed it. It was carefree and fun. Now she had graduated and was teaching full time it was harder, more like real life. She had accepted the offer to stay on and teach at the college permanently from Mr Keeler back in June and whilst she enjoyed her job, she enjoyed being on holiday more, and was not ready to come back to work. Added to which the summer holidays had been pretty boring. She was not earning any money yet, not until she started the new term in September so she couldn't afford to do anything, and apart from a brief visit home to see her parents she was trapped, still paying rent at Diane's, and it was driving her crazy. Diane and Sinead were always at each others' throats about something or other. Their shouting again interrupted her half-sleep. 'What is it about this time?' she thought to herself, then rolled her eyes, groaned and pushed her head back under the covers. Whatever it was, it was getting louder.

Downstairs, as per usual, Sinead was arguing with Diane. George, Esther, Maddie and Bart were in the living room. A pile of packed bags lay by the door, and Maddie's father's landrover was parked in the drive.

Diane was standing opposite Sinead in the kitchen, arms crossed 'No way! Not after last time!'  
Sinead paced around the living room 'you're being ridiculous, this is completely unfair'  
'I don't care, I'm not having you end up in hospital again, or even worse'  
'It's not gonna happen'  
'You're right cos you're not going'

It was a standoff. The argument was going nowhere.

The rest of the teenagers were stood by the front door. Maddie was sat on the arm of the sofa next to them. There was a knock at the door, it was Tilly.  
'What's going on?'  
'Hi Tills' said Maddie cheerfully, stepping up to greet her friend 'we have a surprise!'  
'Well I guessed that was why you had me pack a bag... what is it, am I coming to live here?'  
'Ha!'  
'Cos, really, you've done better...' said Tilly sarcastically downbeat  
'Well if we can get Diane to let Sinead come, we are off to Abersoch for a week, all of us, and you are coming too!' Maddie was so excited.  
Tilly's face lit up 'EEEK! no way!' she squealed.

'You're right 'no way'! Not with this one you're not, you can all go without her!' Diane was not backing down.  
Tilly decided to try her luck 'Please Diane, I promise we will take care of her, we can be responsible, we've all learned a lot since last year'

Tilly really wanted to go. A week in Abersoch would be perfect. She wanted to get out of town and finish the summer with a bang. She had been low since Jen had ended their friendship, after Esther and the 'polaroid thing'. Whenever she thought about it she had wondered what it had been between her and Jen, was it a friendship or a relationship? She had never been sure. They had their obvious attraction in the beginning but once it was clear Tilly was a student, Jen had said they could only be friends. But, then they had proceed to spend the rest of their time flirting outrageously with each other, finding excuses to touch each other, hang out together. It was anything but friendship really.

Still, none of that mattered now. It was over and Tilly had spent the summer trying to move on with her life. She had purposefully avoided coming to Diane's house besides today, and lately she was really feeling like she was getting her life back. Summer had been long. Tilly had got herself a job in the local supermarket which she had found fairly boring, but she had earned some money and had at least spent the summer productively. Now it was time for some fun. It was mid August, in two weeks they would be back at college. They needed to let their hair down, and Abersoch would be perfect.

But only if they could persuade Diane...

'They'll have to go without you'  
'No, no, no, I'm not missing out' Sinead's words were falling on deaf ears.  
Tilly decided to try reason 'Is there anything we can do Diane? Is there anything that would make you feel happy?'  
Diane stopped for a minute, sighed, then said 'Will Maddie's father be there?'  
'No way!' Maddie snorted, then Tilly gave her a strong dig in the ribs 'err, no, sorry Diane'  
'Well you need someone responsible there'  
Sinead snapped 'We're responsible!'  
'Well you weren't last time. No that's it, you bring an adult or you're not going. End of story, no more discussion.'  
Sinead rolled her eyes 'I swear I can't wait to move out of here...'  
Maddie was still on the sofa curling her lip in disgust at what was unfolding in front of her, ruining her well thought out plans. She pulled Sinead aside and looked at her 'look this is getting us nowhere. We're not going without you Sinead. Ok, who can we bring?'

Just then Jen walked downstairs, past the gang and into the kitchen, eyes looking at the floor, barely acknowledging them. They all watched her, except Tilly, who turned to look out the window to avoid any possible eye contact.

Maddie looked at George, who smiled back, knowing what Maddie was thinking. Maddie turned to look at the rest of the teenagers.  
Sinead spoke first 'No way...'  
Tilly's heart started to beat faster as it dawned on her what Maddie must be thinking 'No Mads...' her voice was full of warning, her eyes were pleading, searching Maddies face for some understanding  
'C'mon' Maddie returned, 'you wanna go don't you? Who else are we gonna get at such short notice?'  
Sinead put her hands on her head 'There's gotta be another way'  
Tilly started to get desperate, trying to think of another alternative, she knew she wouldn't be able to handle a week away with Jen, no matter how much she was feeling better about the whole thing, but she had no better suggestion, clutching at straws she quickly yelled 'yeah, Diane can come!'  
The teenagers all turned to look at her like she was crazy, shouting 'NO!'  
Sinead was the first to speak 'Tilly, are you mad...!? No way!' then she looked towards Jen in the kitchen, making her breakfast, completely unaware 'She'll have to come, I can't think of anyone else'  
'Exactly' Maddie agreed.

They all looked at each other, resigning themselves to it. 'Right, well we need to get going, lets try and persuade her' Maddie raised her voice in Jen's direction 'Hey Jen, you fancy a holiday?'  
Jen looked up, confused 'What?'  
'Wanna come to Abersoch for a week with us?' Maddie pointed at the gang. They all smiled over-enthusiastically, straightening themselves up. Tilly half smiled an apology at her, but if Jen looked directly at her, she didn't see.  
'Er.. no thanks!' Jen replied, looking at Maddie, giving a polite smile.  
'Oh come on' Sinead returned, and started to explain it all to her, what had happened last time, how she had passed out on the beach, then ended up in hospital, how Diane won't let them go without an adult. They all chipped in with this and that, trying to be as persuasive as possible. All except Tilly.  
Maddie continued 'the house is right on the beach, its gorgeous, we won't bother you, it'll be like your own private holiday'  
Sinead carried on 'I'm sure Mum would let you off the rent for a week. You've just been saying how skint you are, how you've done nothing all summer, you've got nothing on till we go back to college.' Sinead turned to address her mother 'You'd let her off the rent wouldn't you mum!?'  
'I guess so' Diane rolled her eyes  
Jen replied 'Thanks guys, but spending the last of my holiday babysitting a bunch of students is not my idea of fun, no offense'  
Maddie was not letting it go 'You wouldn't be babysitting us, we just need someone there who, absolute worst case, won't act like an idiot if things go wrong and you need to think clearly. We wouldn't do anything stupid, it's just to put Diane's mind at ease.'  
'Tilly can be responsible' Jen replied, looking directly at her. 'She's mature enough'

Tilly was shocked. That was a strange thing to say. That was almost a compliment, and the most interaction they had had in months. She looked down, confused. They hadn't actually talked since 'The Polaroid Thing', which was almost 3 months ago now. They had only seen each other at a distance across college. Tilly had been gutted about the whole situation, but had respected what Jen wanted and over time it had got easier. It was much easier to get used to if she didn't see Jen, she could put it to the back of her mind and carry on. At first Tilly had hoped something might happen one day, in the future, when the dust had settled, but as time went on and they got more distanced she was sure that Jen's interest in her had faded away completely. She had moved on, so Tilly got on with her life too and made the best of it. It was the only way to move on, get some control back into her life. The situation was impossible so she had to dismiss her feelings, get back on with her life. She was moving forward, she would focus on her studies, pass her exams well, then leave for university next year.

So now why was Jen giving her a compliment like that? And for what reason, because Jen clearly didn't want to come away with them. 'Ugh' thought Tilly, as she was reminded why she had given up on Jen in the first place. She was impossible to read, and now Tilly really couldn't be bothered with the drama, she was weary and she wanted to go on holiday. This Jen thing was a curve ball she had not expected and she had no idea how this situation was going to turn out, but one thing was for sure, it was out of her control. She was just an observer.

Maddie continued with her plan, trying her hardest to persuade Jen to come. She was determined this holiday would happen, and that everyone would be able to come. 'Look you'd be free to do what you want, you can stay in the bus in the garden'  
Jen laughed 'ooo... cosy! Bus? In the garden? No thanks!'  
'Wait till you see it - its been fully restored, its like a hippy caravan, really cosy. Its so nice Mum and Dad stay there when they rent the main house out sometimes. Its fully self contained, all mod cons, you'd love it I promise'  
The thought of that actually appealed to Jen, and saying yes to the plan crossed her mind. If she didn't have to actually be around the rest of them it might be fun.  
Maddie could tell Jen was considering it and sensed victory was close, 'C'mon, you won't have to pay for a thing, the weather is going to be gorgeous, who wouldn't want a free holiday!'  
Tilly saw that Jen was running out of reasons not to say yes, and she couldn't believe it, Jen might actually agree to this nonsense.  
'You'd have to give me no reason to worry about you - I'm not going if you are going to behave irresponsibly'  
'We promise. Plus, its a great place to do some art, watch the sunset, write some poetry, whatever it is you do...' Maddie was smiling cheekily at Jen now. Jen was so close to agreeing, the deal was nearly in the bag.  
Tilly could see what was happening and it was like watching a car crash in slow motion. What was Jen thinking?

Jen knew exactly what she was thinking, she was seriously considering it. She was liking the idea of getting away, and she was confident that the Tilly situation was resolved. They were over. Jen had felt just as gutted as Tilly had done three months ago when they had ended their friendship, but she knew the reason why it had to end, there was no choice. And the more she thought about it, the more she was glad she had got away with it. She had tested the boundaries and taken some serious risks but had spared herself serious trouble. Now she could look back she wondered what she had been thinking, to risk throwing it all away like that. She figured she had just got caught up in the moment and excitement at meeting Tilly. In the past three months she had thrown herself into her work, and over time it had become her only focus. She had really enjoyed it. She loved the challenge of it. And to do it properly she had to put all thoughts of Tilly away, and it had worked. She had moved on.

And right now, Jen really wanted a holiday. She would take her art and a few good books, have a holiday on someone else's expense, no reason she should even be aware of the others once they got there, she would leave them to it, do her own thing. She smiled at the thought.  
Maddie saw the smile flicker across her lips and played her last card 'Cmon, there's not even any mobile reception at the house, you'd be off the grid'  
Jen smiled 'mmm... ok then.'  
'Brilliant!' yelled Maddie and leapt over to give Jen a hug. George followed, and the lounge was a sea of giggles and squeals.  
'But one step out of line and I'm coming back' she smiled, beneath the arms around her neck.  
Sinead looked resigned to the situation, leaned down to Tilly sitting on the arm of the sofa and muttered under her breath 'its bad enough that she's coming, I'm not hugging her!'.

Then the giggles slowly died down and it was back to business,  
'We're leaving in 5' announced Maddie as she flounced off to the kitchen.  
'Oh no, we're not starting like that' replied Jen 'I'll need longer to get ready. We can head away at lunchtime when I've packed if you like'  
Maddie stopped in her tracks, turned round to face Jen and smiled. She accepted the good humour well 'OK, you're the boss!', and as Jen went upstairs to pack Maddie offered a high five to Tilly 'You've got to give her a little victory...' and winked 'poor wee girl was snared like a deer in the headlights...'. Manipulative as always, things were going to go Maddie's way after all.


	2. Chapter 2

After all the goodbyes from Diane and promises to call when they got there, it was time to leave. Everyone piled into the landrover. There was room for three people in the front and the rest were in the back over two rows of seats. Tilly was the last to climb aboard, so had to sit in the last seat available, and as no one else had wanted to take it, it was next to Jen.  
'Fuuuuuck' she thought to herself as she paused, then continued to the empty seat and sat down. Jen turned to look at her, the first direct eye contact in months, and Tilly gave her an apologetic half-smile. It was so cramped where they were sitting their bare shoulders were touching, and this was not lost on Tilly. There was clearly an atmosphere between them but what was it? Was it the awkwardness of being close to someone you have a history with? Was it that confusion of how they stood with each other now it was all over? Was it the weight of unsaid things mounting up over the last three months, not allowing it to get closure? Jen turned away to look out of the window and put her headphones on, tuning out to the rest of the car.  
'This is gonna be a long week' thought Tilly as she turned back to look out of the opposite window.

She could do without this. She decided to ignore it, this was Tilly's holiday and she was not going to let this affect her. She would play it cool. If Jen could, so could Tilly. She would show Jen that she had moved on, that Jen no longer had that power over her. Tilly had always been the one who seemed more keen, more demanding. 'Screw it!' she thought 'this is my holiday and I'm going to have some fun!' She could ignore the fact that Jen was there too.

The journey was fun. Everyone was excited and there was lots of chatting and giggling, and plenty of singing. Jen kept her headphones in but when she could see them all laughing hysterically she paused her music, wondering what they were talking about. Tilly had assumed Jen's music was still playing so she had stopped being self conscious and had gone back to being herself with her friends. She didn't know that Jen was listening, and had spent the journey being unintentionally funny and charming. Jen couldn't help it, she let out a sly smile at some of the things Tilly was saying, particularly when Maddie had got lost and Tilly was giving her hassle for it, taking the mickey in an affectionate way. It was made funnier because Maddie really couldn't handle it, but Tilly knew how to tease her friend - pushing her enough to make a joke out of it, but not too far so that Maddie got genuinely upset. She was being cheeky and Jen was really enjoying it. She had forgotten how feisty Tilly could be and reminded herself of how, in the beginning, Tilly had called her out on being pretentious, teased her, refused to back down, challenged her. Jen had found it irresistible.

After a while the conversation turned to a game of 'would you rather'. The questions had started well, Tilly had asked 'would you rather marry someone rich or someone funny' to which Maddie had replied 'rich', naturally. Then it had descended into more juvenile territory with the boys asking the girls 'would you rather have an unshaveable beard or an unshaveable hairy chest'.

Jen listened in as the conversation carried on, and looked out of the window, her mind turned over. This was the Tilly that Jen had first met. Confident, sharp as a tack, witty, clever. Things had got so stressful between them once it was discovered Tilly was her student. Tilly had turned into a petulant child, making idle threats, sulking, it had made it easier for Jen to walk away, to focus on the thing she had given up Tilly for, and it had worked. Jen had really liked Tilly, she had sparked with her in a way she hadn't done before, or at least that she could remember. But once her career was on the line it had not been worth it. She couldn't trust Tilly not to act like a child if things all went wrong. The risk was far too great, and she had put it away in her head, and moved on.

But now, seemingly, that Tilly was gone, and the one Jen liked in the first place was back. Jen could see she was a step beyond her friends, Sinead and Bart particularly, and she wondered how long they would all remain friends for, once Tilly left home for university, away from them. Tilly clearly viewed the world a bit differently than they did and Jen couldn't help thinking she was destined for bigger and better things. Tilly seemed now much more mature and level headed. Plus Jen had forgotten how funny Tilly could be. How really clever people could be hilarious. Tilly was making Jen laugh without meaning to, but she couldn't let on, even when she was the only one that understood one of Tilly's jokes, she couldn't let her know.

After a couple of hours' drive they arrived at the beach house. They all jumped out of the car, a mass of squeals and excitement. Jen followed behind as they walked up to the house. As they went inside, Jen felt pleased that she had decided to come. The house was gorgeous, right on the sand dunes, elevated and looking over the long sandy beach. It was amazing, and the views were incredible. They cracked open some bubbles and Jen hung back against the wall, aware that she was not really part of this, an outsider, until Tilly turned around and offered her a glass with a smile  
'come on!'  
Jen returned the smile and took the glass, then toasted with the rest of them as they drank to an awesome week on the beach. They all took their drinks out onto the balcony to look at the sea.  
It was at that point that Jen spotted the bus. 'Is that mine?' she asked Maddie  
'Yup! all yours Miss Gilmore!'  
'Its Jen while we're here, Maddie' she said with a smile  
'Get into it Jen!' Maddie returned as she handed her a set of keys 'there's one for the bus, and one for the house. You'll need to come up here to use the toilet and the kitchen. And we guarantee there will always be a bottle of wine in the fridge for you, you have done us a massive favour, thank you SO much for coming!'  
'its my pleasure' smiled Jen in reply, then turned back to look at the bus. It was a converted 1960s Bedford, and was nestled at the end of the garden, amongst the sand dunes, away from the house. She wandered down the garden, glass in hand to have a look. Tilly watched her as she went. She saw her round the corner to the door, fumble with the lock, then smile and enter.

Just then, George ran past, semi naked 'C'mon!' he yelled and jumped off the balcony, running down onto the beach. 'Last one in the sea is a big fat Gay!'. Tilly giggled, and joined the others as they stripped down to their underwear and ran into the waves.  
Jen giggled too as she saw several heads bob past the window of the bus, followed by a familiar red-head at the back. 'I guess you're the big fat Gay then Tilly' she smiled to herself. 

The following day, Jen woke early, made herself a cup of coffee and headed out to the top of the sand dunes to watch the sunrise. Tilly was awake too, and had already gone down to the sea for an early morning swim. She was on her way back to the house, looking down, drying her hair in a towel, when she looked up to see Jen sitting in the sand dunes, just off the path between her at the house. She carried on walking, head down, pretending she hadn't seen her. She had to walk pretty close to Jen to get back to the house though, so as she passed, Jen called out to her  
'Hey!'  
Tilly looked up 'Hey' she replied with a smile  
This was the first time they had been alone in months.  
'You're up early...'  
'I couldn't sleep'  
'Me neither, I didn't wanna miss this!' Jen gestured to the early morning sun with a smile  
'Maddie's been snoring all night' countered Tilly  
'Oh!' returned Jen, she had assumed Tilly wanted to view the sunrise too. 'She may look like a princess, but she's got some pipes on her!' Tilly moaned  
'Wow!' returned Jen, 'I wouldn't have expected that, she's so small and delicate!'  
'Me neither, but shes a foghorn, I'm telling you! If I'd known I'd have never agreed to let her share my room' continued Tilly 'she was supposed to be in the bus! Now I know why!'  
'Oops, sorry...' offered Jen  
'No no! You've done us a favour by coming! Sinead couldn't have come if you weren't here! We appreciate it, really...'  
Jen paused and mocked slightly at the plural 'Oh, do we?'  
Tilly smiled 'We do...', then held Jen's gaze, both smiling.  
They paused, still looking at each other, until Tilly decided she needed to address the elephant in the room 'Look I hope this is gonna be OK, us on holiday together'  
'It'll be fine...' Jen grinned, playing it cool 'we're friends aren't we?'  
Tilly felt a weight lift off her shoulders, and nodded 'well yes we are!'  
'Good' replied Jen, looking straight into Tilly's eyes. She may have been imagining it, but to Tilly it seemed like the sparks were still there, at least they were for her. She paused, returning Jen's grin, refusing to look away, she would not be the one who broke first. 'Good!' she said as she carried on looking.  
Jen smiled back, a big smile that took over her face, her eyes were sparkling. Tilly couldn't help it, she caved in, and looked down. She could feel her cheeks go red, and felt suddenly shy. She needed to say something to try to cover it up, to continue as normal. 'Ok, then, I'm getting cold' she rubbed her arms 'I'm gonna go get some breakfast'. She paused, then continued 'friends can get breakfast together cant they?'  
'It would be weird if friends didn't...' replied Jen as she held out her hands for Tilly to pull her up from sitting on the dunes.  
Tilly stepped forwards and grabbed Jen's hand, then pulled backwards to lift her up, as she did so Jen stumbled into her personal space. Both girls looked down, embarrassed at the contact. They broke away from each other, and Jen straightened her clothes from being sat down. Tilly turned towards the house and started walking. Jen followed. Then Tilly turned back to make small talk with her on the walk up the garden. She had decided she would be friendly to Jen, she would treat her like everyone else on the holiday. She could do this.

They had an enjoyable breakfast together. Tilly cooked scrambled eggs for both of them, and they soon relaxed into the conversation. There was no more tension, they just hung out together, it was easy chit-chat, catching up on the last 3 months, like old familiar friends. They both enjoyed spending time together, then after half an hour or so the others slowly joined. The kettle went on and the day began. After a while Jen felt like she should head back to the bus. She wasn't part of the group, and whilst they had been friendly to her, she knew that she was there to serve a purpose. Plus she wanted to keep some distance between them, otherwise it would undermine her position at college next term. As Tilly watched her walk down the path she thought how good it had felt to chat together again as friends. 'If that's all we can be I will take it' she thought 'it's better than nothing'. She had missed Jen's company.

A few hours later, Jen heard giggling as the teenagers all walked past the bus on the path to the beach, so she stepped outside and up onto the sand dunes to watch them as they headed past. She thought how they looked so carefree, just mucking around, being silly, having a laugh together. She felt a small pang of jealousy, thinking back to when she was their age. It was not so long ago, only four years, but those years she had spent since leaving home, traveling and at university, had been the best of her life. She felt different now, now that she had a proper job. No more ditching class because she had a hangover, or simply didn't feel like going. Now she was in the adult world that kind of behaviour would get her fired. Thinking about it reminded her again of how much she missed student life.

As she stood there lost in thought, Tilly ran in front of her to join the others. She was in her bikini. Jen thought how good she looked. She was really beautiful, striking actually, athletic, bursting with life. Tilly perhaps sensed she was being watched and suddenly stopped running to turn around and look straight back at Jen. There must have only been twenty metres or so between them. She saw that Jen was looking at her and gave her a genuine smile that lit up her whole face. Jen couldn't help it, she smiled broadly back. Tilly beckoned her down to join them on the beach, but Jen shook her head and made the signal with her hands to show that she was going to do some drawing instead. Tilly shrugged and waved then continued down the path to join her friends. Jen smiled as she watched her jog away and carried on smiling long after Tilly had joined her friends. Jen suddenly realised what she was doing and snapped herself out of her daydream, going back into the bus to pick up her sketch book.

Taking a rug with her, Jen climbed up into the sand dunes and found a comfortable sheltered spot near the highest point. She could see the entire length of the bay. She pulled out a pencil, opened her book and started lightly tracing what was before her onto an empty page.  
The gang played around in the waves for an hour or so, then Tilly left them and headed back to the house. She saw Jen in the dunes, not far from the path and stopped to say hello  
'Hey how's it going?' she offered, cheerfully  
'Good thanks' Jen put her pencil down and returned the smile  
'You managing to have a good time?'  
Jen gestured towards the beach 'Who wouldn't!?'  
'True' Tilly paused 'And how's the bus? Maddie wasn't lying when she told you it was cosy was she?'  
'Not at all! It doesn't look it, but actually it's really awesome!' Jen replied with a big smile 'I love it! I'm going to steal it and drive it home'  
'Wow!' Tilly nodded in approval 'perhaps the first time Maddie hasn't lied to get her own way!?'  
'Perhaps!' replied Jen, then after a pause she continued 'You were right about this place. It doesn't feel like we are in Wales. On a perfect day like today it really feels like we are in the south of France or something...'  
Tilly was surprised 'Oh! Have we talked about Abersoch before?'  
'Yeah, when we went to the Gormleys, you remember?' Jen replied, before she had time to think what she was saying. Mentioning Crosby beach had inadvertently brought back memories for both of them.  
Tilly looked straight at Jen 'I remember the beach, I don't remember that conversation...' she replied. Talking about the day of their first kiss had made the mood change. All of a sudden the air felt loaded, less casual. Jen gulped, she shouldn't have said that. But then Tilly angled her neck to look at Jen's sketchbook and brushed away the tension cheerfully, like it had never happened.  
'You getting some good sketches?'  
'Not so much' said Jen as she shut the book 'you've heard of writers block? I think I have artists block...'  
Tilly raised her eyebrows 'Sounds painful!' she joked 'you might need to get some cream for that...'  
Jen giggled, then paused, holding their eye contact, smiling. The tension was back again. She was the first to break the silence this time, 'Maybe I just need a break' she said shrugging her shoulders, trying to appear normal.  
'Or... maybe you just need more wine?' suggested Tilly flirtatiously, punctuating her comment with a cheeky smile. Then she turned around and sauntered off back in the direction of the house.

Jen watched her as she left. She felt a familiar feeling in her stomach, slightly nervous, slightly excited.  
'Ugh...' she thought, 'this was a really bad idea...'


	3. Chapter 3

Jen was berating herself. What on earth was she thinking, agreeing to come away this week? She felt foolish. She should have known this would be difficult, having Tilly so close. She had thought it was all in the past, that she had moved on, but being around Tilly was having the same affect as always. She was stupid to have had no idea this would be how it was. She had to ignore it, stay focused and remember that nothing can happen between them. She repeated the thought to herself 'Nothing can happen. Nothing can happen.'

The problem was that they kept bumping into each other. Seemingly every time Jen went up to the house or out to the beach, Tilly was there. It was impossible. And what was making it worse was that Tilly seemed oblivious of the effect she was having. Her detached friendliness was driving Jen crazy. She would stop and say 'hi' but friendship was all she was offering. She seemed unaffected by the situation. She was full of confidence, and appeared completely in control. It looked like she had moved on, which only made Jen more curious.

Jen was in a catch 22. She didn't want Tilly's attention or the temptation of being around her because it was pointless, they couldn't be together, yet she found herself drawn towards her at every turn. The chemistry between them had been off the charts, and it felt like it still was, even though Tilly was holding back. Whenever they spoke or looked at each other there were sparks in the air. Jen wondered if it was made more intense by the fact they couldn't act on it. You always want what you can't have after all. But Tilly, whilst being friendly and polite was not pushing for anything more. Jen had got used to Tilly being the one who chased her, and now there had been a definite power shift in Tilly's favour. There was no indication that she thought of Jen as anything other than a friend.

Jen knew that's the way it should be, the way she had told Tilly it _had_ to be, but it was difficult. Where could she draw the line? She craved her company, so how bad would it be if they were friends? Maybe if they even flirted a little bit? As long as nothing actually happened they could pretend it was innocent. They weren't breaking any rules. However, Jen didn't want to lead Tilly on either, to mess with her head like she knew she had done before. She couldn't repeat the 'come here, go away' routine that happened last time, it wasn't fair. It was a fine line to walk, because Jen knew how easily the lines had become blurred. She realised she didn't want Tilly to move on. But what could she do? There was no point pursuing it. She was stuck, and the situation was frustratingly impossible.

Jen spent the rest of the day avoiding Tilly and her friends. She walked into town in the early evening and found a cute little cafe for some dinner. As she sat there, eating on her own she mulled things over in her head until it had gone round and round so many times she was sure she was getting more confused. Eventually she decided to head back to the house, and went to the bathroom at the cafe to check her face and reapply her lipstick before she left. Why am i doing this if I am just going back home? she thought to herself, knowing the answer all too well.

She took the route back along the road rather than her usual path along the beach. When she reached the foreshore road she saw in the distance a group of people coming the other way, towards her. Amongst them was a figure she couldn't mistake for anyone else. Tilly and her friends were walking straight towards her. They had seen her too, so it was too late to duck down one of the paths to the beach, she couldn't avoid them.

Tilly had noticed Jen approaching. She could spot her from a mile off. She had got used to seeing her at a distance in college for the last few months, and could easily pick her figure and the way she walked out from a crowd. She was wearing a very pretty blue and white knee length summer dress and blue cardigan which looked striking with her skin colouring and black hair. Tilly had always liked that Jen was a proper 'girl' in the way she dressed. She was tall yet curvy and womanly, and Tilly watched her now as he walked towards them, her sunglasses on. She still looked good, that had not changed.

Whilst Jen was still out of earshot, Sinead turned to Maddie and moaned  
'What a pain having Jen along, she's such a weirdo, I honestly expect to come home tonight and find her dancing naked in the moonlight'  
Tilly raised an eyebrow 'C'mon, she's not that bad... She didn't want to come, remember? It'd be worse if Diane was here...'  
Sinead rolled her eyes 'Whatever, I'm just pleased we are going out tonight. Jen can write poetry on the beach while we get shit faced!'  
'We should probably tell her where we are going though' offered Tilly  
'You tell her!' scoffed Sinead  
Much as Tilly wanted to talk to Jen she had been finding it difficult to keep up the act of being just mates, it was wearing her down and starting to make her miserable. She had decided the best way forward was to spend as little time with Jen as possible, otherwise it was just too painful.  
'Mads you tell her'  
'C'mon Tills, grow some!' replied Maddie incredulously 'She's harmless, she's not your teacher now!'  
Jen was getting closer, and was probably within earshot now, especially if they kept arguing about it  
'Okay, Okay... be quiet' Tilly hissed.  
Jen slowed down as she approached the others and forced herself to put on a cheerful smile  
'Hi guys, are you off out?'  
'Yeah Miss, don't wait up!' Sinead called out over her shoulder. She was already past her and continuing down the road. The others followed. Tilly couldn't leave it like that, it seemed so rude. She was the only one who had slowed down to a stop.  
'Yeah we're going to check out the local nightlife' Tilly explained, as the others carried on walking.  
'cool, have fun...' Jen replied breezily.  
Tilly paused, unsure of what to say. It felt weird not to invite her. 'Id ask you along but I'm not sure you'd want to come'  
'No, that's fine. Not really my thing' Jen shrugged  
'Right... well... don't wait up I guess...' Tilly responded, wanting to say more, but not sure how.  
'I won't' replied Jen.  
It was like some kind of standoff. The air was thick with unsaid words, and they were exchanging mindless small-talk, but now was definitely not the time, if ever to talk about what was really on their minds. They paused, retaining eye contact, searching their faces, trying to figure each other out. Neither would cave in and just say what they were thinking.  
The rest of the gang were now out of earshot so eventually Tilly gave up  
'Okay then!...'. She sighed, feeling frustrated and pissed off. There was nothing more to say. She turned on her heels and jogged down the road to catch her friends.  
'Fuck it' she thought to herself 'I promised myself I wasn't gonna let Jen ruin my holiday. I wasn't gonna chase her anymore. That's it, I won't give her another thought!'. She caught up with the rest of them 'C'mon guys, the first drink is on me!'

The evening was going well. The gang headed to a couple of bars, and had started chatting to some locals around the same age. They had seemed nice enough, but Tilly's head was not in it. Her mind was elsewhere. Maddie was already getting cosy with a local lad names Chris, that she had started talking to, and, after he introduced his friends to the rest of the gang they suggested they all move on together to the next place.

As they made their way into the pub the doorman asked them for ID.  
'Shit! I've left it back at the house!' cried Tilly  
'Tills!' replied Maddie 'I told you to bring it!'  
'Please can I come in anyway?' Tilly asked the doorman  
'No ID, no entry' he repeated, arms folded, classic bouncer style.  
The others were already inside the pub by this point.  
'Do you want me to come with you to get it?' asked Maddie. It was a genuine offer of help, but Tilly could see that Maddie was keen to keep talking to the guy she had met. They seemed to be getting on well, and Tilly was keen for Maddie to have some fun with someone, to help her get over Callum.  
'Nah' she replied 'you go on in, I won't be long'. She could do with the fresh air anyway. It wasn't late, and the sun was a little while away from setting so it was still quite light. She would be safe enough walking back on her own.  
'Well be careful tills, there's no mobile reception near the house, remember?'  
'Don't worry Mads, have fun, I'll see you soon' she replied as she set off down the road.

As she got close to the house Tilly saw that Jen had ventured out of the bus and was up at the main house, standing on the deck, having a wine, enjoying the view. Tilly thought she was probably enjoying the peace and quiet with everyone out. The sun was setting now, and she was silhouetted against the skyline. Tilly paused to look at her for a while, then suddenly, realising what she was doing, snapped herself out of it, rolling her eyes at her lack of willpower.

Jen was lost in thought and turned around with a jump when she heard Tilly's feet on the steps up to the deck.  
'OH! Christ!' she said, breathless, putting her hand to her chest, then softening and smiling 'you gave me a fright!'  
'Sorry, I didn't mean to'  
'no no, you're fine' Jen smiled  
'Fine?' Tilly replied, her tone almost confrontational, remembering their hopeless conversation from earlier.  
'Fine' confirmed Jen calmly, not reacting to Tilly's mood. They both looked at each other. Then Tilly continued into the house. Jen turned back to look at the sea again, taking a sip of her wine and leaning on the balustrade, giving nothing away.

Tilly's ID was in a bowl in the kitchen so she went straight in and grabbed it. She was about to turn round and head back out again when she spotted Jen's sketch book on the kitchen table. Pausing, she looked up to see that Jen was still on the balcony, looking out to sea, away from the house, so Tilly quickly flicked through the pages. She paused when she got to the work Jen had done since they had been in Abersoch. Tilly was genuinely impressed with her talent. She had a really good eye, way better than Tilly, and seemed really good at picking out the detail in a scene. The sketches were simple, clean, elegant. They started off by showing the beach, the wider landscape, the garden, the bus and so on, and then there was the set from earlier that day, when the gang were playing around in the waves. The lines were quick and fluid on the whole. Tilly spotted herself in the sketches, only her outline was more pronounced, more carefully studied, more delicate. As she flicked through she noticed this time after time, until eventually the sketches were pretty much just of her, with the occasional item picked out in the background. She looked up at Jen, still on the balcony, still oblivious, to check she was not coming in, as she continued to flick through. The further she got through the book, the closer and more detailed the sketches became. She had no idea when some of them were drawn. Maybe even some were from memory. She recognised herself in each drawing. The side of her face as she seemed to be looking at the sea, the nape of her neck in one study, her profile with her hair tucked behind her ear, her lips. The sketches were really personal, and all of her.

Tilly was genuinely surprised. Clearly Jen didn't have some kind of artist's block, she just didn't want Tilly to look at her sketch book. But what did this mean? Tilly looked up. Jen was still leaning on the balustrade outside, her mind on other things. Tilly had thought they were just friends. Jen had made that clear time after time, and it was not Tilly's style to chase someone who wasn't interested. Of course she had wanted more, but she wasn't about to push it, make an idiot of herself, she had too much pride for that. Much as she didn't like it she had respected Jen's choice. This whole time Tilly had thought Jen had moved on, it certainly seemed so from the way Jen was acting around her. But now it appeared as if Jen still had feelings for her. Tilly thought back to when they first got together. Jen had made all the moves, done all the chasing in the beginning, and it had been Jen's call to end it in the first place, so Tilly had been sure if she was interested still she would have made it obvious to her.

But maybe not.

'Hmmm...' thought Tilly 'What to do...' and what did it mean? She was not remotely sure, but there was only one way to find out. Tilly was feeling confident after a few drinks. She shut the sketchbook and returned it to its place on the kitchen counter. Then she saw Jen's half drunk bottle of wine in the kitchen, so she grabbed it, and an extra glass and walked outside. She was not sure what she was going to do, or how this would play out, but with no better plan she decided to just wing it and see what happened.

She had nothing to lose.


	4. Chapter 4

Tilly strolled out onto the balcony, her hands down by her sides, bottle of wine in one hand, glass in the other. Jen was in the exact same place she had left her, leaning on the handrail, looking out to sea. Either the view was mesmerising, or Jen had things on her mind. Tilly was nervous. She had not thought she would be in this situation with Jen. She only had the sketches to go on, and there might be a reasonable explanation for them. Either way, not knowing was driving her crazy, and the way they had been dancing around each other in the last couple of days was exhausting. She had to know one way or the other.

But she also had her pride to consider. She was determined not to be the one who laid her soul bare this time. She was not going to go there again. Jen had to give her something, meet her halfway at least.

Tilly walked up to the balustrade and stood next to Jen, who turned to face her.  
'Hi' she said cheerfully, sounding almost relaxed, in direct contrast to how she was actually feeling.  
She had interrupted Jen's thoughts  
'Oh! Hey' she returned with a smile  
'You need a top up?' Tilly asked as she gestured towards the wine bottle in her hand.  
'Sure, thanks' Jen replied, holding out her glass. Once she had filled Jen's glass Tilly made another gesture towards her own  
'Do you mind?'  
'No, no... go ahead' Jen was surprised Tilly wanted a drink with her, but went along with it. Tilly put the bottle down on the deck.  
'So...' said Tilly with a cheeky grin  
Jen smiled back, her face beaming  
'so...'  
They looked at each other.  
'Are you alright here, hanging out on your own?'  
'Yeah i like it' she sighed 'Its good. A bit of 'me' time, I feel like I'm clearing my head'  
Tilly smirked 'Why, whats in your head?'  
'Oh...!' replied Jen, wrong-footed by the question 'Er, nothing really...'  
There was a pause.  
Jen hoped Tilly couldn't see through her. The last thing she was expecting was to be standing here, alone on the balcony with her tonight.  
Tilly broke the ice by playfully teasing her  
'yeah! that's what I heard... Just your tiny little brain!' she said with a smile.  
Jen returned the banter 'Yep, nothing going on in there!' They shared a giggle, then she continued. 'So hows the big night out going?'  
'Its good, the kids are causing trouble, you know...'  
'And the local nightlife?'  
'Colourful!' Tilly joked. 'Ooo...!' She continued excitedly 'Maddie may have pulled...!'  
'Oh, really!?'  
'Unsubstantiated rumours at present!'  
'Would Diane approve..?'  
'Diane approves of Bart... Her standards are fairly low...' She joked  
'True' replied Jen and they both giggled, taking a sip of wine.  
Tilly continued 'we're having a laugh though' she said with a grin. Their eyes were locked into each other, sparks in the air flying between them. They paused and held the look for a while, till Jen broke the silence.

'So...' she said slowly, eyes dark and smouldering, voice low and gentle 'why are you here then?'  
Tilly wondered if Jen was being flirty with her, but she wasn't sure. Jen was always so hard to read, she decided to make her work for it, and was not about to lay her heart out so easily. She held Jen's gaze for a long time, daring her to look away, then replied breezily  
'Actually i forgot my ID'  
Jen teased 'you have fake ID?'  
'Doesn't everyone?' Tilly countered  
'Only if you need it!'  
'Yeah, alright grandma..!.' Tilly stepped forward and poked Jen in the arm, flirting back now.  
Jen pointed to the card in Tilly's hand  
'Is that it? Can I see it!?'  
As Tilly replied, the tone in her voice started to sound like she was agreeing 'Absolutely...' but then it changed 'NOT!'  
Jen giggled 'Go on...'  
'No way, its terrible!'  
Jen quickly snatched the card from Tilly's hand  
'Heeeeeyyyy!' She protested 'rude.'  
Jen turned away to have a look at it, giggling. Tilly tried to grab it back, it was a textbook flirt manoeuvre and they both knew it, but they went along with it, pretending it was still innocent. Jen looked at the card, then covered her mouth with her hand.  
'woah, that's really bad...!' the picture was terrible and the date was obviously photoshopped, the whole thing was falling apart. 'You should have just drawn a fake moustache on there and be done with it!' she teased  
'Told you...'  
'And people believe this do they? Seriously?' Jen handed it back  
'Never failed so far!' replied Tilly confidently, as they smiled at each other, 'besides, some people think I look older than I am..' Tilly was making a dig at Jen, referring to when they first met and Jen had thought she was a uni student.  
'Yeah, idiots!' Jen replied affectionately as she turned back to look at the sea again, taking another sip of wine. Tilly did the same, their shoulders lightly touching, and they shared a relaxed pause in the conversation. Jen wondered if maybe she should send Tilly away, but she was enjoying her company, the chat was always easy and fun with her, they both sparked in each others' presence. Besides, it would be suspicious if she sent her away. If they were just friends why would Tilly have to leave?

But Tilly had more on her mind. 'Enough banter' she thought, knowing that they could hang out like this for hours and be no closer to working things out. She took another sip of her drink for dutch courage, then turned back to Jen, changing the subject.  
'You seemed deep in thought when I got here..' she said, still standing close 'What were you really thinking about?'  
'Oh! ... ' Jen replied, surprised, Tilly had given her a chance to say something, and she thought about taking it for a split second, but she lost her nerve. 'Really it was nothing... um... I suppose I was just thinking about how beautiful it is here'.  
Tilly was disappointed. She started to question what the sketches had meant after all. She felt like the connection was still evident when they looked at each other, the electricity was still there, their eyes seemed to communicate more openly than their words. But Jen was giving nothing away. Tilly wasn't sure what to do. Should she call her out on it, should she take a risk? They were still looking at each other, holding their gaze. Jen swallowed. Tilly broke the silence nodding slowly,  
'Yeah, it really is...' looking straight at Jen, the double meaning was obvious.

Jen didn't know what to say, she felt hot, flustered. This conversation was potentially heading into dangerous territory. She desperately needed to break the intensity of the situation, to steer the subject back to something light. She was suddenly nervous.  
'Er...' she started, but couldn't think of anything to say, her mind was a total blank! She felt panicked, and in pure desperation said the first thing she thought of  
'What... are you thinking about?'  
Shit! she shouldn't have said that. 'I mean...' She started but didn't finish the sentence.  
Tilly paused, their eyes were locked together as always. She was feeling confident after a couple of drinks, and was getting sick of all the games. She went for it, looking Jen straight in the eyes  
'You...'

It was what Jen had wanted to hear but at the same time it was exactly what she didn't want to hear, and now that Tilly had said it, it was out there, in the air. No more pretending. Tilly was looking back at her with so much behind her eyes. Lust, affection, desire, her pupils were so big, it was like she was bearing her soul. Jen wanted to respond, but she knew she couldn't. It choked her up and she felt the weight of the situation again, it upset her. There was only one thing to do  
'Tilly...' she said gently, the tone in her voice issuing a rejection, a warning not to cross the line.  
Tilly broke their eye contact 'I know... I know...' she shrugged, and rolled her eyes, looking back out to sea. She knew the situation, it was hopeless.

Then she turned back. They were still standing very close, both of them feeling incredibly aware of their proximity. Jen could smell Tilly's perfume. The hemline of Jen's dress was flapping against Tillys knees in the sea breeze. She started again to try to say something but thought better of it. All they could do was look at each other, then Tilly's gaze dropped to Jen's lips. She moved slightly closer, pausing to double check for permission with Jen's eyes. She didn't protest, so Tilly assembled all her courage and leant in to kiss her.

Jen didn't push her away. She knew she should but she just couldn't. The kiss was deliciously soft and gentle. Tender, but with definite purpose. It felt completely natural, as if their lips were a perfect fit together.

Tilly slowly pulled back, breaking the kiss, but only far enough away that their lips just stopped touching. It was like their first kiss, except now they both seemed so nervous. Back then it was innocent, now they knew they were crossing a line.

They pulled back slightly further to look at each other, pausing to breathe, both of them wondering if this was OK. Neither was backing off.

Then Jen sighed as if she had given up fighting it and put her hand on Tilly's neck, pulling her back in. The kiss was more intimate, more intense, but still sweet. Slow, warm, inviting, a taster for more. Their lips parted together to let each other in as they sunk into it, kissing more deeply, enjoying it, neither wanting to stop. Tilly's hand left the balustrade and joined her other one on Jen's waist, then they closed together behind her back and wrapped tighter, bringing her in closer. Jen's hand was still on Tilly's neck, and the other moved up to rest on her cheek, the fingers of both reaching towards her hair. They became lost in the moment. It was sincere, honest, raw. Tilly thought she heard Jen let out an almost inaudible moan. The kiss felt so good it took their breath away, and they had to break to catch some air, resting their foreheads against each others'. Still holding on, Jen's hand slipped to Tilly's collar bone. They pulled back to look at each other intensely, brows furrowed in confusion, eyes questioning each other, full of lust and unspoken feelings, breathless, lost in the moment.

Suddenly, they heard a shout from the direction of the beach  
'Tilly?'

'Shit! Maddie!' she whispered as they sprung back from each other guiltily, knocking the wine bottle over. They hastily pulled themselves together. Had they been busted? Their hearts were pounding.

'Right here, Mads!' Tilly called out  
'Where?'  
'Up here on the deck. I'm just coming down now'  
'Christ, Tills! what's taking so long!? We were getting worried'  
'I couldn't find my ID! Sorry hun!' Maddie couldn't see them from where she was, and it didn't sound like she knew what she had interrupted.  
'Are you ready to go now?' replied Maddie, the frustration in her voice evident.

Tilly didn't move, she was stuck to the spot. Her eyes still locked with Jen's.

'Be right there...' She called back over her shoulder, still looking at Jen. Then she paused again, holding their gaze for a little longer, issuing an apology with her eyes.

'TILLY! Come on!' Shouted Maddie.  
Tilly finally broke their gaze, then turned around and ran down the steps to join her friend on the beach.

Jen steadied herself, leaning against the balustrade, catching her breath. Her mind was racing. What just happened!?


	5. Chapter 5

Tilly was up early again, her mind was racing and she couldn't sleep. She made her way down to the beach, past the sand dunes. There was no sign of Jen, so she carried on to the sea and dived straight in for another early morning swim in the half-light of dawn. This was becoming a habit. The air was fresh and the sea was cool, and it was what she needed to give her brain a restart. It had been working overtime overnight. Insomnia was fast becoming a habit too - if it wasn't Maddie snoring then it was the noise of all the thoughts churning around in her head keeping her awake. She just couldn't stop thinking about that incredible kiss last night, how it felt. But what did it mean? Did Jen regret it? What would they do now?

Tilly returned back to the house. At around ten the others woke up and assembled in the kitchen for breakfast. They were all hungover, and spent their time deconstructing the night before. Maddie had shared a kiss with the new guy, Chris, and was buzzing about it. It was all she could talk about. Tilly tried her best to be enthusiastic for her friend, but she had her own kiss to consider, and she most definitely couldn't talk about that. She looked outside to the garden. The curtains on the bus were still closed. There was no sign of life.

When it got closer to midday Tilly actually started to become a little concerned. 'Screw it' she thought, and snuck out to the garden to see if Jen was in. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer, so she stood on her tiptoes and looked through the windows. No one was there, and the bed was made. 'Shit...'. She picked up her phone to send Jen a text, then remembered there was no mobile reception, 'Shit, Shit!' she thought again. Her mind was muddled and she really needed to talk to Jen, to figure out where they stood with each other.

She returned to the house to find her friends lazing about in the lounge. The sun was streaming through the curtains and they were all lying around, limbs draped over sofas and chairs, reading magazines, chatting to each other. The playstation was on. They were all feeling hungover and lethargic, and the house was a tip. Tilly wanted to ask them if they had seen Jen, but she didn't want to appear suspicious. She sauntered into the living room breezily, and flopped herself down on a bean bag. The others were chatting about this and that, and she listened in to the banality, till eventually Tilly addressed what was on her mind.  
'So... anyone seen the fun police today?'  
'Huh?' replied Bart, not looking up from his game  
'You know... Miss Gilmore' Tilly replied, as casual as possible. She wondered if anyone picked up on the blush in her cheeks.  
'Nope, thank god!' Sinead replied, rolling her eyes  
'You don't think...' started Tilly  
'What?' replied Maddie  
'Er... you don't think she's gone swimming and got caught in a rip tide or anything do you?...'  
'Don't be ridiculous' replied Bart  
'Well... I mean... you never know...' she said quietly 'I might go look for her...'  
'WHAT!?' replied Maddie 'chill out Tills, just leave her to it. Enjoy the peace!'  
Tilly couldn't think of a convincing counter-argument that wouldn't give the game away.  
'Besides', Maddie continued 'we're meeting Chris and his mates in town for lunch in an hour. You'd best go and get ready!'

'Ugh' thought Tilly as she dragged herself upstairs to get changed. This was the last thing she wanted to do.

She wished she had made an excuse last night and stayed back at the house with Jen, but she didn't want to do anything suspicious. She wanted Jen to be able to trust her, so she had carried on as normal, back into town with her friends. Only her heart was most definitely not in it. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. She knew Jen was always one step away from playing the safe card and ending it, so she was on edge, wondering what was going through her mind. They had stayed out until the pubs closed, then when they came back to the house she had immediately checked to see there wasn't a light on in the bus. It was all dark, so Tilly had gone straight to bed, but she just lay there, her brain turning over. If they had kissed it must have meant something. She was sure it wasn't one-sided, she wasn't imagining it. Jen had been the one who pulled her back in the second time and pretty much kissed her out of her shoes! No way that was meaningless.

The thoughts had churned around her head till morning. She had grabbed an hour or two's sleep, but that was it. And coupled with Maddie's snoring for the last two nights meant she was exhausted, which made thinking clearly even more of a challenge.

Now she was having to act normal again, following the others into town for lunch. They met Chris and his friends in a little cafe favoured by the locals. Tilly spent the lunchtime scouring the streets outside with her eyes, looking for a familiar figure. Finally, she saw Jen, walking down the high street opposite. She seemed like she was deep in thought, as she accidentally bumped into someone coming the other way. She was totally distracted. Tilly was just pleased she was OK, and watched her head back in the direction of the house.  
'C'mon guys, lets go back!' she exclaimed, excitedly  
'Alright Tills, just let me finish my lunch...' Maddie replied.  
Tilly knew she needed to play it a bit cooler, but she wasn't very good at playing games. She was relieved Jen was OK, but now she had seen her she really needed the questions going round in her head answered.

They arrived back at the house in the mid afternoon, and everyone headed to the beach for a swim. Tilly hung back, making the excuse that she was going to have a sleep, and she waited for them to go, watching them as they made their way down the garden path, past the bus and through the sand dunes to the beach. 'Quick!' she thought to herself, and rushed out to the bus. She knocked briefly but didn't wait for an answer as she practically burst through the door, but there was still no Jen.

'Damn'. She was about to head away again but she stopped a little longer to have a proper look around the bus. It was actually really cosy. Tilly was surprised. It had clearly been lovingly restored. She thought to herself how it was perfect for Jen. It would really appeal to the hippy artist side of her. There were some wind chimes above the door, a little pot-bellied stove in the centre of the wall, beside a faded old rocking armchair, with a half finished book open on the armrest. Little pin-sized LED lights, almost like Christmas tree decorations, wrapped their way around chunky recycled timber steps leading up to a huge elevated wall-to-wall bed at the back of the bus. An old knitted throw lay across the foot of the duvet.

Jen was obviously really at home here. Tilly could see why she had said she loved it. She strolled around the room as she checked it out, absentmindedly picking up a piece of clothing that was lying on the rocking chair before flopping herself down to sit in it. 'Where is she?' she thought to herself as she rested her feet on the coffee table in front of her. She put her hands to her face, but she still was holding Jen's scarf in her right hand. As it came close to her face she could smell Jen's perfume on it, so she brought it up to her nose to give it a better sniff. Just as she did so the door swung open and in walked Jen! Tilly sprang up guiltily.  
'Hi!'  
'Hi...?' Jen replied, the tone in her voice issuing a question, giving Tilly a weird look. 'How long have you been here exactly...' She was amused. She could see Tilly was looking flustered and guilty, and she always enjoyed teasing her.  
'Err... this is not what it looks like'  
'what does it look like?' replied Jen, her face straight, not giving anything away, as she stepped into the bus.  
'Er...not what you are thinking!...' floundered Tilly  
'What am I thinking?'  
Tilly's face broke into a smile... 'I really wish I knew!' she replied, and Jen returned her grin just as broadly. The last answer was laden with double meaning.

Jen shut the door behind her and they stood opposite each other, neither saying a word. The eye contact was intense. Jen didn't seem upset with Tilly for being there. She seemed perfectly happy and was returning Tilly's look with a smile. The atmosphere was thick, but Tilly didn't want to ask the heavy questions straight away, so she gestured to the bus and spoke.  
'Wow, 'Look at this place!'  
'I know, right?' replied Jen, her face beaming. 'have you had a look around?'  
'not properly' Tilly replied.  
'Didn't you come here last year?'  
'No, it was all locked up, I've never been inside it before... Maddie's family is so secretive. I half expect her to whisk us all away to some tropical island that they own someday'

Jen started to show her around. They looked at every detail, every clever little cupboard, every quirky design feature - a hidden shelf, a drop-down table, the kids' bunk bed above the driver's cab. As they worked their way around the bus, Jen would find an excuse to touch Tilly's bare arm to show her something, or put her hand in the small of her back to gently guide her to something undiscovered. They finally reached the back of the bus, Jen was saving the best till last. She led Tilly up the timber steps, then nodded her head towards the bed.  
'Lie down.'  
'Miss Gilmore!' Tilly exclaimed in mock outrage 'that's a bit inappropriate don't you think?!'  
Jen giggled, then continued, gesturing once again towards the bed.  
'Lie down I wanna show you something!'  
Tilly was still pretending to be shocked 'its not getting any better!'  
'Look!' Jen said as she affectionately rolled her eyes. Then she lay down first and skootched over to let Tilly onto the bed. Tilly looked, then smiled, and lay down next to her.  
'Don't look at me, look that way!' Jen exclaimed as she pointed back towards the front of the bed, over their feet. There was a step in the roof of the bus revealing a window at eye height to where they were lying. It had a blind over it.  
'Amazing' said Tilly sarcastically  
'You are such a smartass!' Jen replied as she reached over Tilly to grab the cord to the blind, hanging just behind her.  
'Excuse me' she said, their faces very close, the air full of sparks and tension, making Tilly giggle. Jen pulled the blind open to reveal the view through the window. You could see the beach in the foreground and just make out the sea in the distance.  
'Wow, pretty impressive...!' said Tilly, genuinely enthusiastic this time  
'Hang on, there's more...' Jen knelt up and opened the sunroof above their heads, then lay back down again, their bare arms touching this time. They could now hear the seagulls, the waves, far off laughter from families on the beach.  
'Ok, that's pretty cool...' Tilly admitted  
'Can you imagine how excited I was when I discovered that!?'  
'Mmm hmmm.. '.  
They paused to appreciate it, then Tilly continued  
'I think you lucked out!' Jen turned to look at her inquisitively, so she carried on 'well, here you are on this big comfy bed with an amazing view, and there I am, getting no sleep, sharing the smallest double mattress in the world with snory old Maddie... How did that happen?'  
'You never told me you were sharing a bed!'  
'Didn't I?'  
'I'm not sure how I feel about that!' Jen replied, smiling, flirting a little.  
'Well I know where I'd rather be...' responded Tilly suggestively  
'Hmm... Me too...'  
Tilly looked at her with a questioning expression.  
'I mean... I'd rather be here' Jen clarified, unconvincingly  
'right' Tilly replied, smiling  
'yeah, right...' Jen rolled her eyes, smiling back, holding their eye contact, suddenly aware that they were still lying close on the bed together. The air was thick with unspoken words.

They held the gaze a while longer, then Tilly started  
'So...' she said suggestively, still smiling  
'So...?' responded Jen, in a similar tone of voice  
'Would now be a good time to talk about that kiss last night?'  
'What kiss?'  
'Argh!' Tilly cried, playfully slapping Jen across the belly 'Don't do that to me! It's not enough that you've been avoiding me all day, now you're denying it altogether!'  
'No I'm not'  
'Well we knocked over your wine so you can't pretend you drank too much...'  
There was another pause, and Jen looked deep into Tilly's eyes  
'No... I remember...' she said slowly, their eyes dancing together as they both remembered how good it felt. Jen looked away and shrugged  
'I'm not denying it... I'm just... not addressing it'  
'Ah, you're right, completely different things!' Tilly replied, teasing her.

Jen lay back and looked at the ceiling. She sighed, then started to explain herself  
'If I don't address it, then I can pretend its not happening', she paused, then continued 'Cos, if it IS happening then I have to stop it'  
The room was filled with silence as the reality of Jen's reply sank in  
'Well we don't want that' replied Tilly, her face open, but serious. Was Jen about to call it off again? She paused, letting Jen process it in her head.  
'No' she returned with a smile, then moved back closer, putting her hand on Tilly's side, absentmindedly stroking her bare skin with her thumb, never breaking their eye contact.  
Tilly was confused now, unsure of what Jen was actually saying. As usual her words were saying something different to her actions.  
'So... it's not happening?' she questioned  
Jen paused and looked down.  
'Well we don't want that either...'

Their faces broke, both grinning from ear to ear, sharing the moment. What was Jen actually saying here? Before Tilly could ask, Jen leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. Tilly closed her eyes, getting lost in it, feeling Jen's lips against hers, just enjoying the moment. Then Tilly broke the kiss  
'Hang on, I'm confused...'  
'Welcome to the club!' Jen exclaimed, 'It's probably best if we just don't talk about it...!' she joked, and leaned back in for another kiss, softly opening her lips a little, sucking Tilly's bottom lip between hers. It felt amazing. Her mind had been racing all day but now it was crystal clear and singularly focused... Tilly. Tilly. Tilly... Tilly's soft cheeks under her fingers, her body pressed up against her, her tongue gently grazing along her top lip. Stopping to do the right thing never even entered their minds.

Jen pulled Tilly closer as the kiss slowly became more heated. Jen's warm hand on Tilly's hip moved along to slip under her t shirt and touch the bare skin on her back, pulling in towards her.

'So...' Tilly sighed breathlessly between kisses, the goosebumps on her skin distracting her '...this... isn't... happening?'

Jen pulled a strap down and off Tilly's shoulder, and planted a warm kiss on her bare collar bone  
'Right...'  
she moved closer still, pulling her in tight, kissing, kissing, kissing. Both were breathless. Their hands started to wander, becoming re-aquainted with each other, gripping each others' skin. Tilly let out soft moan.  
'And you didn't accidentally just put your hand on my bum...?'  
'that wasn't an accident...'


	6. Chapter 6

The early evening sun was throwing shadows on the bed, tinted orange through the curtains, and the light in the room was just starting to fade. Jen and Tilly were cuddled up together, and the bed was feeling incredibly comfortable, especially to Tilly who had hardly slept since she had started the holiday. They were feeling lazy, with nowhere to go, just enjoying each others' company, listening to the summer sounds out of the window and feeling the sea air breeze through the open skylight. They had spent the last few hours wrapped around each other, chatting, laughing, kissing, it had been fun to fool around, and they felt completely at ease together, like all the barriers had been removed and all the past drama was forgotten.

At this close proximity to each other, especially after all those months, things had got a little heated at times, and whilst they both wanted to sleep together, neither had wanted to rush it. After all the angst it felt so good just to be in the moment, away from home and all the weight of the world. Jen had found it difficult at times to hold back, but she wasn't even sure if Tilly had slept with anyone before, they hadn't had that conversation yet, so she was letting Tilly set the pace, and keeping the mood light and fun. Tilly knew Jen would have slept with her ex girlfriend, she was older and they had lived together for a couple of years, so she was feeling a little intimidated, and trying not to think about what she might need to measure up to. Not that Jen had ever given her reason to feel that way, but Tilly was happy to let it all evolve naturally.

Eventually Tilly's thoughts returned to reality  
"I'd better get back before the guys notice I'm not there"  
Jen snuggled in closer,  
"Just ten more minutes, I'm not ready to leave denial land yet..." she protested. Tilly couldn't resist,  
"Ok... well you DO feel all nice tucked into me like that..."  
"Yes I do..." smiled Jen in response. Tilly was tracing lazy swirls with her fingers on her back, under her singlet, on her bare skin and it felt delicious. They were so comfortable and relaxed that before they knew it, they had fallen asleep together. Both were utterly exhausted.

They were ripped from slumber with a start. Someone was loudly knocking on the door!  
"Jen! Jen! are you in there!?" Whoever it was, their voice sounded panicked. Jen looked at her watch, it was 8.30pm and nearly dark outside.  
"Hang on!" she shouted in return, pulling herself together "I'm just getting changed!"  
"I think that's George!" whispered Tilly, feeling panicked herself.  
Jen pointed to the wardrobe.  
"Quick! Get in there!" she hissed, as Tilly bounded off the bed and into the cupboard. It was a really tight squeeze and her long limbs couldn't quite fit in. Jen draped a towel over the partially open door to hide her, as George opened the bus door to talk to Jen.

"What's the matter George?" she inquired, her voice full of concern  
"I don't want to worry you, but we can't find Tilly. She wasn't back at the house when we got back from the beach and she's still not turned up. Have you seen her?"  
Jen swallowed  
"... no..." she replied, her mouth was completely dry  
"Shit!" said George, then he tried to continue more upbeat "its ok, I'm sure she'll turn up"  
"I'm sure she will George, she's probably gone for a walk on the beach or something. Have you tried calling her?"  
"Yes, but there's no reception here so we tried from the house phone. We just got her answer message."  
"Hang on, I'll come and help look" offered Jen as she pushed George out of the bus and followed him, shutting the door behind her.

'Christ!' thought Tilly. How had they fallen asleep!? That was stupid. She grabbed her shoes and snuck out of the bus, then crept up the garden in the half-light till she reached the foreshore road. Once there she ran as far as she could away from the house, then ducked down one of the paths to the beach. She caught her breath, then strolled back in the direction of the house. Esther was the first one to spot her  
"TILLS!" she yelled "There you are! We were all really worried!"  
"Shit, sorry Est, I guess I lost track of time."  
Esther walked her back to the house, picking up some of the others along the way. They climbed up onto the deck and called the rest of the gang who were looking for her in town from the house phone.

"Sorry guys!" she said as the rest of them returned to the house. Jen was with them, and they all assembled on the deck. "I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. I didn't mean to worry you." They all mumbled replies; They were glad she was OK, she better not do that again, and so on. Jen said nothing, and turned to walk back down the steps off the deck. Tilly tried to catch her eye, but she didn't turn to look.  
"Sorry miss!" Tilly called after her as she started to walk away.  
"Ok Tilly" Jen replied, her face sullen, the sparkle in her eyes absent, and she turned around and walked down the path, away from the house, and back into the bus.

Tilly lay awake again that night, she could tell Jen had been rattled. She had looked troubled when she left the house and it was not like her to avoid eye contact. Maddie was snoring next to her. Tilly rolled her eyes and looked at the clock. It was gone 2.30.

Jen was lying awake too, biting her nails, her brain was working overtime. Nearly getting caught again had given her a fright, snapped her back into reality. She was suddenly aware of what she was doing. She had been caught up in being with Tilly again. It always seemed to happen to her so easily. What was it about Tilly that she found so hard to resist? Why did she find it so difficult to do the right thing? What was she going to do?

The following day was Maddie's birthday, and the focus was most definitely on her. She had arranged the day from start to finish, commencing with a brunch on the beach followed by a boat trip at lunchtime through to the late afternoon. Tilly had not seen Jen before the boat had left, but caught her eye at a distance, as Jen watched her climb aboard from the beach. Tilly stood on the deck of the boat and looked back at her, trying to gauge her mood, but she was too far away.

The time-frame for Maddie's birthday festivities was tight. She had everything planned out in great detail. Once the boat trip was finished they all headed back to the house to get showered and changed, ready for dinner out in town. Tilly had tried to find a minute to check in on Jen but it was impossible. She couldn't get a chance. It was as Tilly was leaving the bathroom, wrapped in a towel that Jen found her instead. She was walking down the corridor in her direction. Tilly closed the bathroom door and set off towards her, smiling. Jen looked troubled but she managed a half-smile. They both stopped walking as they got close. Tilly reached for Jen's hand by her side and held it, pulling her in.  
"You look nice..." she whispered.  
Jen sighed in reply, distracted, but Tilly made sure she had her full attention, looking straight into her eyes. Jen returned her look, and then smiled "so do you!"  
Tilly looked down at her towel, then back up at Jen, raising an eyebrow suggestively, but Jen's face fell again.  
"Are you ok?" Tilly asked in a whisper, their faces close, their bodies even closer in the confined, dimly lit corridor. Tilly's thumb was stroking the back of Jen's hand as she continued to hold onto it, her hand was a little damp from gripping her towel. Being close to Tilly like this, in the half light, looking like she did, smelling like she did - fresh out of the shower, was like an onslaught on all of Jen's senses. They were being bombarded, all combining to further mess with her head. She did her best to ignore them.  
"We need to talk" she whispered "can you sneak out to the bus before you go out tonight?"  
"I'll work something out" Tilly responded. It would be difficult but she was dying to see her, and she was getting worried about what must be going on inside her head.

Just then they heard footsteps approaching and they broke away from each other hastily. Jen had disappeared by the time Esther rounded the corner. She caught sight of Tilly in her towel and smiled to herself, looking down, embarrassed. Tilly didn't notice, barely acknowledging her as she passed.

Tilly saw her opportunity when Maddie left the bedroom to have her shower. She threw on some shorts and a singlet, and headed out to the bus, unnoticed. When she arrived Jen was sitting in the armchair, looking troubled. She stepped in, shutting the door behind her.  
"You've been thinking about it haven't you? You've got your serious face on"  
"Yeah..." Jen replied, glumly

"I thought you weren't gonna do that..."


	7. Chapter 7

Jen's face was sullen. She had been thinking about the situation all day. It was impossible. She knew she had to do the right thing and finish it before it got started again, but now Tilly was stood in front of her, and they were together in the privacy of the bus, she wasn't sure she could go through with it. She put her hand to her forehead  
"We need to talk..."  
"Okay..." responded Tilly, sitting down on the edge of the bed  
Jen sighed, about to begin, when Tilly interrupted her  
"I know where this is going"

Jen steadied herself then continued:  
"Tilly" she started "we shouldn't..."  
But Tilly didn't want to hear it, interrupting her  
"I know, I know, you don't need to say it..." she paused, their eyes locked together, it was pointless, she had heard it all before. Then she changed tack "_Shouldn't_ is better than can't" she smiled cheekily.  
Jen was serious  
"I _meant_ can't"  
"well, you _said_ shouldn't" Tilly replied, smiling still.  
"You're not making this easy..." Jen said, rolling her eyes, becoming frustrated.  
"Sorry" Tilly responded, serious this time "I know I'm not, and I know this is difficult for you. I understand why you think you have to stop it. You are taking a massive risk. Prison, career, life. I get it. These are big deals"  
Jen was grateful for the understanding  
"Ok, so you see I have no choice"  
"I see you have two choices"  
"Two?"  
"Yes. You can stop it..."  
"Or...?"  
"Or you can trust me"  
"Tilly...' Jen replied with a warning tone in her voice "It's not that simple"  
"Yes it is. Look Jen, I know it can't go anywhere, when we get home it's all off. I understand." she paused, searching Jen's face "Jen, I'm not going to tell anyone, I swear."  
"Its not that I don't trust you, it's like I said at the folly, I want this" Jen said, gesturing between Tilly and herself "so I'm fighting my instincts. I can't trust myself. I am hopeless around you. I have to remove temptation. I know what the right thing to do is, so I have to do it." Sometimes she still felt that Tilly didn't quite grasp that it was Jen putting everything on the line, risking her future.  
"Ok but look, you're not my teacher now, we're not even at home, lets just take this time to be together, give ourselves a break, and when we get back home we'll go our separate ways, I won't tempt you anymore, I promise. I know you are weak!" Tilly was starting to tease again, "I can be the mature one..."  
Jen remained quiet. Tilly wondered if maybe she was considering it, so she walked over to her  
"But for now..." she said suggestively "we're not home..."  
Jen sighed and looked away, shutting down Tilly's advances with her body language "If only... "

Tilly tried a different angle.  
"Look Jen, I just think we should stop giving ourselves a hard time about this, lets keep it light, have a holiday, forget all the angst, just for this week, have fun, take some memories home"  
Jen stood up, and walked over to the window. Tilly continued  
"people do this all the time..."  
"I don't think they do!"  
"People separate for a period of time, live apart for months, long distance relationships, people in the army, it'd just be like that."  
"It wouldn't' Jen countered 'we couldn't meet, or text, we couldn't be together in any sense of the word."  
"But we can one day, when I'm eighteen, and I could still see you, pass you in the street, exchange the odd small talk, I could see you from a distance at college, we'd know it was only temporary until we could be together. It's a matter of months, not years. People cope with much worse."  
"What if we get caught? It would ruin me"  
"We won't"  
"You don't know that"  
"You don't know that we will!"  
Jen smiled and her face softened. Tilly's optimism was catching.  
"We can be careful," Tilly continued "we can have ground rules." Her face lit up with an idea and she was suddenly excited "oo! I know! We can have safe words!"  
"Safe words?" asked Jen  
"Yeah, safe words, you know..."  
"Are you sure you mean _safe_ words?"  
"Yeah"  
Jen giggled, and raised an eyebrow;  
"You mean a word we agree on, like 'cauliflower' that I cry out in bed when you're getting too kinky!?"  
Tilly was shocked at her mistake,  
"Shit! No! Ha ha! I meant like a word we say in normal conversation that means something else that only we know!"  
Jen broke into laughter 'that's _code_ words, you idiot!" and they both creased up at the misunderstanding.  
"no, I definitely meant code words!" Tilly giggled, then she joked suggestively,  
"that is unless...?" and gave a little wink, stepping forward, smiling as she grabbed onto Jen's loose t shirt material near her stomach, grazing her bare flesh with her fingers as she did so, making Jen inhale sharply at being accidentally tickled. Jen lovingly pushed her away  
"One thing at a time, Casanova..."  
she teased, smiling back as they paused, looking at each other, sharing a grin, feeling the tension in the air lifting slightly.  
"Cauliflower!?" Tilly mocked.  
"First thing that entered my head!"  
"Hmm..." she replied "what **_is_** going on in there..." their eyes were locked together.

Tilly became suddenly aware of the time. She should get back before the others noticed.  
"Will you think about it?" she asked. Jen said nothing. They were still looking at each other. Tilly knew Jen was conflicted between doing what she should and doing what she wanted. She just hoped she would have the courage to choose correctly.  
"I'd better go. The guys will be ready to leave soon."  
"ok..." Jen replied.  
They stood where they were a little longer, their eyes communicating beyond their words, the lust and affection clear to read in them. It was the rules of the rest of the world that was a problem, nothing was wrong with how they felt about each other.

Tilly stepped towards Jen again, confident, taking charge. She reached out and put her hands either side of Jen's face, resting them on her cheeks. Jen was surprised but didn't push her away.  
"Look, I am gonna kiss you now though," Tilly said, her face close, her expression honest, sincere. "Just in case it's the last one..."  
And with that, she decided to give Jen something to really think about, pulling her in and gently pressing their lips together. Jen was reluctant at first to respond, but the kiss felt so good, against her better judgement, she soon melted into it. It was tender but incredibly passionate. Holding each other tightly, Tilly was in control and Jen was surrendering to it.

Still kissing, Tilly's hands dropped to below Jen's waist, where they pulled her closer and squeezed her hips, before running up her sides, very slowly and deliberately grazing the side of her breasts with her thumbs. The effect was instant, it sent shivers up Jen's body and her heart began to pound faster. Tilly was teasing Jen, knowing the effect her touch would be having, knowing how easily turned on Tilly was by every single touch from Jen, and that Jen would be the same. Jen was hopeless once they started kissing, always had been, and Tilly knew it. Her hands lingered there long enough to give the desired response, then she pulled them away as if to tease, as they continued past to wrap up behind Jen's back. One hand ventured under her hair to the back of her neck. Jen let out a breathy sigh between kisses and grabbed on tight, pulling her close.

Tilly had only meant to kiss Jen, but she was enjoying feeling her respond to her touch. Jen was being so cute, so irresistible, she couldn't help herself. She chose to push it a bit, be a bit naughty. This was Tilly's one chance to convince Jen to take a risk. She had tried her best to reason with her, but perhaps she needed to show Jen what she was thinking about throwing away. So she dropped her other hand slowly over Jen's chest, down her belly, past her hips and finally to between her thighs, feeling how warm she was there, touching her over her clothes, pressing her against the wall of the bus.

The response from Jen was immediate as she let out an involuntary moan at the sensation, and gripped on to Tilly, pulling them both in against the wall behind her. She let out a gasp and another moan as Tilly allowed her hand to fall under Jen's skirt, and her fingers began tracing a path over her underwear, touching her exactly where she wanted it the most. Jen couldn't help herself, she felt like her knees might buckle.

Enjoying the feel of Jen beneath her fingers, Tilly was confident that her plan was working, as she felt Jen press herself forwards into her hand and heard her breath quicken and become heavier.

Jen could no longer concentrate on kissing, she was too distracted by what Tilly was doing to her, and she broke the kiss to help her catch her breath. As she gasped for air she wrapped her arms around Tilly's neck and brushed her lips past her ear, breathing her name as she did so, as if it was a request for more.

Hearing Jen say her name like that - _this_ girl, the one she had been thinking about for months, was almost too much for Tilly. Obliging, she leaned into her, against the wall of the bus, and buried her face and lips into Jen's neck, pulling her hand away from beneath Jen's skirt just long enough to hear her moan in protest, before navigating around Jen's underwear and returning her hand to its previous location, only this time there was no fabric between them. Tilly caught her own breath to feel just how aroused Jen was beneath her hand, as she heard another gasp escape from Jen's lungs at the touch. She had given into it, she was no longer fighting it. Her body's response had betrayed her words, it was contradicting them, and she was clearly lost in it.

Tilly pulled her face back to look at her. She had her eyes closed, lips slightly parted, breathing heavily. She looked beautiful. Tilly had not touched her like this before, and she was completely loving it. Loving how it felt but also what it meant to be this intimate with her. It was really turning Tilly on. Jen opened her eyes and they held each others' gaze, pupils large and dilated, sharing the moment, as Tilly continued to explore with her hand.

It was unbelievably tempting to stay longer, but Tilly knew what she had to do, so abruptly and completely against all her instincts, she broke away from their embrace  
"Bye Jen" she said, and stepped back.  
"Aaaah!" exclaimed Jen in disbelief as she watched Tilly turn around and leave the bus, pausing at the door to look back and smile before disappearing up the path towards the house.

Jen had absolutely no idea what to do with herself. She was left standing there, still leaning against the wall, breathless, weak at the knees and ridiculously turned on, alone in the bus to think things over.

'Fuuuuuuucccccckkkkkkk...'


	8. Chapter 8

Jen had to do something to distract herself and to burn all her pent-up energy, so she went for a barefoot run on the beach to try to clear her head. The warm sand felt great between her toes and she kept trying to focus on that in an effort to concentrate on anything other than the thoughts running around in her head. 'Tilly...'. her brain wouldn't let her think of anything else, and it wasn't offering any insight either, so she had just kept on running, hoping the answers would arrive in time.

Meanwhile, Tilly was finishing getting ready to go out. Her head was buzzing too, thinking about what just happened with Jen against the wall of the bus. It was intense. Jen was utterly addictive. Tilly couldn't stop thinking about her. She very much wanted to finish what they had started that afternoon, but she knew that she had to give Jen only a taste of what they could have together if she wanted her to make the right decision. Tilly was really not into playing games, it was not her style at all, but in this case it wasn't that Jen was playing it cool with her, she seemed to want Tilly just as much as Tilly wanted her, she just had to make her see it was worth taking a bit of a chance. Tilly was finding it to be a delicate balancing act.

She looked out of the window, and watched Jen complete another lap of the beach. 'How many was that now?' she wondered to herself, as she saw her slow down, and stop. She stood there for a minute or two, not moving, then suddenly turned on her heels and ran, still in her running gear, into the sea, diving straight in. It was a final point of exasperation on Jen's part. She was exhausted from running, and tired from lying awake most of the night, confused by the questions in her head. Added to which she was now as wound up as anything after Tilly's wandering hands in the bus not long before. She was surprised how Tilly had seemed to know exactly where and how she had craved her touch, even taking her close to the height of pleasure, then shamelessly abandoning her there. She had been a little minx and Jen knew it. She couldn't help but smile at how well she was being played. Tilly was a clever girl. Maybe even irresistible. It had made it even more difficult for Jen to try to make any kind of decision. She plunged her head back under the waves. The cool water felt refreshing, and she giggled to herself. Perhaps this was her version of the traditional cold shower!?

Tilly smiled at her from her bedroom window and watched her as she strolled back out of the water. Her hair was all wet, and pushed back off her face, revealing how naturally stunning she really was. 'Make the right choice Jen' Tilly thought to herself. Then she took a deep breath, and set off downstairs to join her friends.

Maddie's extended birthday celebrations continued, unrelenting. The teenagers walked into town, Tilly lagging behind on the road. She was feeling tired after yet another night of very little sleep, and her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Jen. What was she thinking? What would she decide? she shut her eyes briefly, feeling the cool sea air on her cheeks and remembered how Jen had looked earlier, losing herself to Tilly. The look they had shared while Tilly was touching her. Just letting go and enjoying what had turned out to be an incredibly intimate moment between them.

Tilly was not in the mood for 'the Maddie show' tonight. When they arrived at the restaurant she saw Chris and his friends were going to join them. Immediately Maddie and Chris cosied up at the end of the table, draped over each other, engaging in public displays of affection for all to see. Tilly sat with the rest of their combined friends. Chris' mates were nice enough, but they were all on a mission to get completely wasted in as little time as possible. The more drunk they got, the more rude and obnoxious they became. The evening quickly gathered momentum, and they finished their meal and went on to a few pubs, then Chris and his friends suggested a bar they hadn't been to before, on the other side of town.

As they were walking along the street one of Chris' friends, a lad named Jack, had hung back with Tilly, making excuses about needing to talk to her about Maddie and Chris. Tilly had been curious as to what he felt he needed to tell her, always concerned for her friend. Jack had started to talk vaguely about Chris, but after a while she had realised that he was bullshitting her, trying to get her alone. Eventually he made his move, swinging his arm roughly around her neck and moving in to give her a beer soaked kiss.  
Tilly was polite, but firm, putting her hand on his chest and pushing him away  
"Sorry Jack, it's not going to happen"  
"Oh, come on, you've been all over me all night..." he protested, slurring in her ear  
"I don't think so" Tilly replied pushing him away again, picking up her pace "come on, lets catch up with the others!". But by this time they were nowhere in sight, and Tilly didn't know where it was they were going.

Jack led her into a pub, reassuring her it was where they would be. It was really busy, and Tilly couldn't see the teenagers there either. Before she knew it Jack had bought her a drink. It turned out it was all part of his seduction. She drank it politely as he continued to try to win her round.  
"Look Jack, I'm sorry, I'm gay. Unless you have long dark hair and incredible boobs, I'm just not interested"  
"you're not gay"  
"yes!" Tilly replied confidently "I am"  
"I could turn you..." he leered, leaning into her, but Tilly had had enough.

"Thanks" she said, standing up "but no thanks!" and she quickly made her way towards the exit. Jack protested and tried to follow her, but she was too quick, and he was too drunk. She stumbled out onto the street and ran off in the direction they had been walking, to try to find her friends.

She tried every pub in that direction but without luck. 'Screw it!' she thought, and started walking back to try to find a taxi, wondering if they even had them in this small town, until she remembered she had put her purse in Sinead's bag for the evening as the outfit she was wearing had no pockets. She tried all of her friends on their phones but they went straight to voicemail. She cursed again the lack of mobile coverage. Now it dawned on her she would have to walk home on her own. 'What a rubbish night!' she thought. Why had she even come out? All she could think about was Jen anyway. She had only come along because it was Maddie's birthday and she would never have forgiven her if she didn't. Abersoch seemed safe enough but she knew that nowhere was ever completely safe this late at night, so she took off her shoes and started running in the direction of home, figuring running alone was better than walking alone.

As she rounded the corner to the house she saw that all the lights were on, and the place was full to bursting with people. She could hear the bass of the stereo from where she was standing. It seemed after all that, as if the party had ended up back at the house. 'Crap!' she thought, having told herself on the run home that at least she would get a good night's sleep. She looked at her watch, it was 12.30. She had spent the last hour separated from her friends, and knowing them they would all be up for hours yet.

She walked inside and barely recognised anybody, every room was full of people, so she headed upstairs to her room for some relative peace and quiet. As she got to her bedroom door there was a hand-written note on it saying 'Don't even THINK about coming in!'. She picked it up, and sighed. It was Maddie's writing. She could be so inconsiderate when she had been drinking, and clearly she was inside the room with Chris. Tilly was so tired, her mind was worried about Jen and she had just had a miserable evening. She was exhausted and pissed off, and really not in the mood for this. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep.  
At that moment George walked down the corridor.  
"TILLS! There you are! We keep losing you!"  
"Hi George" she replied wearily  
"what happened darling? we turned around and you had disappeared!"  
"ugh... long story... doesn't matter"  
"well, I've got bubbles!" he cried happily, waving a bottle of sparkling wine in her face. Tilly managed an unconvincing half smile and followed him back downstairs.

Once in the kitchen, Tilly sat on the benchtop and turned her head to look out the window. She could see the bus in the garden. There didn't appear to be any lights on, but the music in the house was so loud she thought Jen had to be awake. She looked back at George. He was already deep in conversation with a random guy, so she jumped back down off the counter and sauntered out into the garden, trying to look as casual as possible, saying hello to as many of the gang as she could find, so they knew she wasn't lost and wouldn't come looking for her. She wasn't sure of what she was doing but maybe she could convince Jen to just let her crash on her floor. They could talk more in the morning, right now all Tilly wanted was to sleep.

When she reached the bus she crept around it, to the darker side away from the house and stood on her tip-toes to look through the window. She saw Jen asleep in the armchair, a book lying open on her stomach, and a glass of half drunk wine in her hand, looking dangerously like it was about to fall and smash on the floor at any minute. What was of more concern was the candle on the shelf next to her armchair, which had burned so low it was about to droop down and fall onto Jen's shoulder. Tilly told herself it would be irresponsible of her to leave it like this. She quite clearly needed to prevent a potential fire hazard! So she crept into the bus, took the glass out of Jen's hand and put it safely on the sideboard. Then she blew the candle out, plunging the room into darkness. She turned on the side lamp and looked at Jen. She looked peaceful. Tilly thought about waking her, but then she noticed she was wearing her pyjama bottoms with her singlet and had left the unmade bed behind her in order to sit in the chair and read. Tilly hoped it was because she had been lying in bed thinking about her, and that had prevented her from sleeping. She sympathised, knowing exactly how that felt, and how exhausting it was. So she picked up the knitted throw from the bed and placed it over Jen. Then she sat back down on the edge of the bed. It felt insanely comfy, and so good to take the weight off her feet. Tilly was so tired she couldn't think straight. Should she leave? She shifted over and leant onto her side, propping her head up with her hand, her elbow resting on the bed. All she could think about was how tired she was. Her eyelids felt really heavy. She looked back at Jen sleeping peacefully in the armchair, and before she knew it, her head had dropped onto the top of her arm, as she fell asleep too.

After an hour or so Jen woke up, uncomfortable from sleeping in the chair. She stretched her arms and let out a sigh, then looked down at the rug that was over her. She sensed something wasn't right, frowned and looked up. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Tilly lying on her bed, fast asleep. She panicked, and went to the window to check what was happening outside. She could easily hear the bass of the music, and when she looked up at the house she could see the party, still going strong.

She looked back at Tilly who was sleeping diagonally across the bed. What was she doing here? Jen had daydreamed about getting Tilly into her bed a thousand times, and here she was, delivered to her as a surprise package. But what should she do? In her sleep Tilly had shifted her position so that she was now lying more with her head closer to the pillows. The bed was massive though, as it had been designed to completely fit the whole rear of the bus, and Jen could see there was room for her in the bed behind Tilly.

She stood there quietly and thought for a minute. Here she was facing her choice. Should she wake Tilly up and send her away, or should she get in bed next to her. Tilly was sleeping, so she was not rushing her decision. She put her hand to her mouth, biting her nails again.

She had absolutely no idea what she was going to do.


	9. Chapter 9

Tilly woke around nine, blinking as her eyes grew accustomed to the sunlight poking through the curtains. She didn't recognise where she was instantly, but then it dawned on her, she was still in Jen's bed! She had woken from a blissful few hours sleep and could hear the sound of people on the beach, and the waves crashing on the sand through the open window. But where was Jen?

She rolled over slightly to look around the room, and as she did so she felt the weight of Jen's arm draped over her waist. She looked behind her, and there she was, right next to her, still sleeping, nestled up close to her back. Tilly decided she must have been in such a deep sleep she didn't register when jen climbed in.

Tilly hadn't intended to fall asleep in Jen's bed, but she was very pleased with the result. Not only had she slept really well, but now here she was, lying in bed next to the girl of her dreams! She turned over to face Jen, and cuddled back in so her face was tucked up in the nape of her neck, softly dropping a lazy arm over her hips. Jen didn't stir. Tilly closed her eyes again, wondering if there was any chance she could still be asleep and that this wasn't really happening. The bed felt amazing and she was so comfortable and content, before she knew it she had slipped back into sleep again.

Jen had stood next to the bed for at least fifteen minutes the previous night, mulling her choices over, before locking the door, turning the light off and climbing into bed behind Tilly. She hadn't actually made any conscious decision about their future, but she was tired of thinking about it all and just wanted to sleep. Tilly had stirred but not woken, and had actually snuggled up to Jen as she got into bed, which had made her smile, before she fell quickly asleep. As Tilly cuddled up to her in the morning, Jen's hand had ended up under the back of Tilly's top, resting on the bare skin on her lower back.

After half an hour or so Tilly woke again, and pulled herself in closer to Jen, so her nose and lips were just touching her neck. She felt so good all wrapped up in her arms. Tilly wondered if this would be what it would be like in the real world, without all the complications. She allowed herself to linger in the daydream for a bit longer, and as she did so, she absentmindedly pushed her lips against Jen's neck in a delicate kiss. Her skin smelled just perfect. Jen stirred, let out a sleepy moan, then pulled Tilly in closer to her.

Tilly slowly moved her lips up to Jen's jawbone, kissing all the way. Jen stirred again, waking up gradually, her eyes were still closed but she was starting to become aware of what was happening. In her half-sleep she was finding it hard not to respond, but utterly impossible to stop it. Once Tilly's lips came close to her ear, Jen couldn't stand it any longer, and she turned towards her, catching her in a long, smouldering kiss. She ended it by sucking Tilly's top lip between hers, running her tongue softly under it as she did so, their lips overlapping each other.

They broke away from the kiss to breathe for a second and looked deep into each others' eyes. Tilly didn't need to check if this was okay, Jen's kiss was the answer, so she moved back in again for more. They shared another incredible, deep, slow, delicious kiss, and another, and another, each one becoming more passionate, more heated. They were both all warm and sleepy, and comfortable. Lying next to each other, nowhere to go, nowhere to be.

Hands started to explore and arms grabbed on tight. They hadn't even spoken today, but it all somehow seemed so much simpler when they didn't talk. Right now their actions were speaking volumes. They couldn't get enough of each other. Jen's body was responding to Tilly's closeness, and was still completely wound up from yesterday's activities against the wall of the bus. They were instantly transported straight back to where they had left off. Burning uncontrollably for each other, like their bodies had a will of their own. Neither was prepared to stop, it felt too good.

Jen pulled down the back of Tilly's knickers as they continued kissing, so that they were half-on, half-off, and squeezed her bottom, wrapping her legs around and between Tilly's, moving in closer, feeling her respond as her thigh slotted between her legs, pressing up against her, and Tilly's did the same. She let out a moan, and they broke the kiss to let Jen's singlet come off. Tilly's wasn't far behind. Now they were topless, pressed together, feeling each other against their bare skin. It felt warm, smooth, soft. Their hands and lips were busy discovering new territory where their singlets had just been, returning time and again to the places that felt the best, and that elicited a moan, a sharp intake of breath, a sigh from the other. No more chance this was a dream, they were wide awake and caught completely in the moment. They were both so wound up after all those months of flirting and thinking about each other that now they were finally alone together every touch felt infinitely magnified, giving them goosebumps, setting their skin on fire. They were wrapped up tight in each other, breathing each other, moving together. No more thinking about the consequences, just doing what felt good, surrendering to it. It didn't take long for them to become completely lost in the moment, it was overwhelming.

Jen was still wanting to let Tilly set the pace, but it was becoming unbearable. Waiting for her was torture, she thought she would just about explode if Tilly didn't finish what she had started yesterday. As if sensing that's what Jen needed, Tilly moved her hand from Jen's chest, down her stomach, and into her underwear once more. As soon as she felt her beneath her fingers, and heard the pleasure in Jen's voice as she did so, it sent sparks of electricity directly through her body, down to the warm centre of her. She was insanely turned on, and she could feel Jen was too. Only this time she had no intention of stopping.

Jen finally felt like she had permission to touch Tilly intimately, pulling back slightly to slide her hand around the top of her own thigh and into Tilly's underwear. She responded immediately with a moan, breathlessly leaning into their kiss, arching her body towards her, grabbing tighter with her spare hand and increasing the pressure with the other. Once Jen felt just how ready Tilly was for her it wasn't long before it all became too much. She tried to hold back, wanting to bring Tilly along with her. She rested her forehead on Tilly's as they tried to slow down, tried to savour it, but it was hopeless, like trying to stop a freight train. Tilly had already taken her too far. She couldn't stop it! She felt a sudden wave of pleasure, grabbed on tight and gasped as her whole body shook unmistakably. Tilly gasped too, Jen had brought her so close, she was already on the verge. Jen's hand was still between her thighs, moving with the full weight of her body, but feeling Jen shudder in ecstasy, knowing that she had taken her there was enough for Tilly to send her over the edge too. She pulled Jen tightly into her and buried her face in her shoulder as the same thing happened to her, and she lost herself to the power of it all.

They stayed like that for a while - holding on, breathing, then moving against each other again only slightly to send another wave, another gasp, both enjoying it till it subsided. They were completely surprised by it, and shocked at the intensity of the moment and the quickness at which it had happened. They hadn't even had a chance to take their underwear off. Eventually they calmed down and caught their breath. They shared a look and then collapsed into giggles at the absurdity of it all. It was intense.

After a moment or two, still wrapped in each others' limbs, Jen pulled back to look properly at Tilly, and smiled at her.  
"Hello..."  
"Mmm... Hello..." Tilly replied, her voice all low and sultry.  
"You're in my bed...!"  
"It would appear so..."  
Jen brushed her hair away from her eyes and smiled  
"Well what a nice surprise..."  
"What? this?" Tilly asked as she gestured at both of them in bed together, "or that?" she raised an eyebrow suggestively, referring to what just happened between them.  
Jen giggled... "Err... both!"  
Tilly smiled; "What _was_ that, exactly?"  
"Mmm... I guess that was four months' worth of unresolved sexual tension!"  
"Ha ha! I guess it was! I honestly think my toes curled... no kidding!" Tilly giggled in reply. "I thought that was just a myth!"  
"Yup!" Jen confirmed, pretending to brag "That's just what you get when you come to bed with me..."  
"Oo! Every time!?"  
"errr...!" Jen replied unsure, "only if we wait another four months!"  
Tilly pushed Jen off her and rolled her onto her back, then held her down and began covering her in kisses again in mock desperation. "Bad idea!"  
Jen squealed, pushing Tilly away, as they both giggled. Jen flopped her head back down on the pillow and they readjusted themselves so they were side by side, smiling at each other. Tilly leant back in for another kiss. Long and slow this time, unhurried, delicate.

Jen eventually broke away,  
"But, for the record... you, young lady, are a ridiculous tease!"  
Tilly was amused, defensive "You are! Seducing me, dumping me. I was just giving you a taste of your own medicine!" She smiled and gave Jen a playful poke in the ribs "Besides, I had to get you to change your mind somehow"  
"Hmmm... very persuasive..." replied Jen, returning the smile  
"So, you're not mad at me for being here, breaking the rules?"  
"I can hardly complain can I?! though I probably will be, when I start thinking about it"  
"So don't think about it"  
"Hmmm... Er... Okay!" Jen agreed cheerfully, and they shared a pause in conversation, just looking at each other. Jen grabbed Tilly's hand.

"So..." she asked  
"So..." replied Tilly. It had become their standard exchange whenever there was a change of subject looming.  
"What are you doing here?"  
Tilly stopped, surprised, then smiled cheekily "you mean besides the obvious?"  
"What!?" Jen cried, in mock frustration at her avoidance of the question "Driving me crazy?"  
"Mmm... Is it working?"  
"Yes!" She replied, then continued softly "But not in a bad way..."

Jen was enjoying the banter as usual, but needed a clear answer from Tilly to reassure her that she was safe to be there with her.  
"Really, What happened last night? How come you are here?"  
Tilly smiled, then described the previous night's events, "I ate pizza, got hit on by a drunk guy, lost everyone else, lost my purse, ran back here to find a bunch of randoms in the house having a party, Maddie locked me out of my room, I couldn't stop thinking about you, I came out here and you were nearly burning the bus down with that candle, I fell asleep on your bed, I woke up, then we started kissing".  
"I take it that's the short answer" Jen teased, still confused.  
"Yeah. There was some other stuff that happened after the kissing..." Tilly replied, making Jen giggle.

"Ok, but really?." began Jen again, serious this time, trying to get a straight answer out of Tilly.  
"You don't remember?"  
"Aahh!" She replied, giving her a playful slap. Then looked her straight in the eyes so she could see it was important to her. She tried again "will anyone be looking for you right now?"  
Tilly sighed "mmmm... no" and paused, looking back at her, returning her gaze. "the guys will be sleeping it off for a few hours yet, Maddie is not expecting me in her room, we're ok I promise..."

Jen's face broke into a grin. Tilly placed her hand at the back of Jen's neck, pulling her in to kiss her again, it had been too long since the last one.  
"We have plenty of time..." she confirmed

"Oh... do we!?" Jen questioned suggestively with a cheeky smile as she gently pushed her back, placed a kiss on her hip bone and scootched down the bed until her face was level with her belly button, her body lying between Tilly's legs. She leaned forwards and placed a warm kiss on Tilly's stomach, wrapping her hand under and around her thigh and tucking it between her underwear and her bottom. Tilly closed her eyes.

"Mmm-hmmm..." she moaned in reply to Jen's question. She then let out a sigh as she felt Jen's kisses on her stomach continue. She could feel Jen's hair tickling her belly and her fingers running along the skin on her stomach, just above the waistband of her knickers. She held her breath as the kisses began to trace a painfully slow path down her stomach, below her belly button, pausing for a second at the top of her underwear...

"Was that a yes?" teased Jen, seductively.

Tilly gasped as Jen started to pull the fabric down, then stopped, waiting for her answer

"... Yes! ..."


	10. Chapter 10

After initially deciding she should be back in the house by eleven, Tilly finally dragged herself out of bed and away from Jen around midday, and started putting her clothes back on. It took her a while to locate everything, eventually finding her jeans under the driver's seat at the front of the bus.  
"How the hell did these get over here!?" she asked, giggling.  
Jen laughed. She was still lying in bed, propping her head up on one hand, watching Tilly scramble around trying to get dressed.  
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Tilly asked sarcastically as she pulled her singlet over her head. "Are you a secret javelin olympic medallist or something!?"  
"Maybe I don't know my own strength!" Jen smiled. "Nothing would surprise me after this morning..."  
"Mmmm..." replied Tilly, walking back towards the edge of the bed and leaning over to kiss her softly.  
They shared a smile for a moment, then Jen's face suddenly fell and she looked worried  
"I hope you've not left it too late?".  
"Nah, we'll be fine" Tilly reassured her "they'll be in bed till now at least, maybe even later. But I'd better go and show my face before they wonder where I am."  
"Where will you say you've been?"  
"I probably won't need to say anything, they won't have even noticed".

Tilly picked up her shoes and looked in the mirror, then turned back to Jen, horrified.  
"Holy crap, look at me!"  
"mmm... I know..." Jen smiled, contentedly.  
"why didn't you tell me what I looked like!?" her hair was all messed up and standing really tall on her head, her eyes were puffy and swollen, some of last night's makeup was still on. "I cant believe I still managed to seduce you looking like this!?"  
"Oh! did you seduce me? I thought it was the other way around!" Jen replied, smiling.  
"Oh I definitely seduced you..." Tilly joked "Did you not notice I used all my special moves?"  
Jen frowned, joking back "mmm... no I must have missed them..."  
"Well that's why they are so good... they're subtle."  
"Is that right? I'll look out for them next time then" Jen said sarcastically, in mock appreciation  
"Mmm... 'Next time'..." Tilly replied, smiling dreamily.

"Anyway, you can totally pull off the walk of shame look!" Jen continued, returning to the subject "Look at you! shoes in one hand... still in the clothes you went out in, hair all matted like you got some action!"  
"Ha ha! Well I did!" Tilly replied as she went back over to her.  
"well yeah, you could say that"  
"Only I can't kiss and tell..." she said flirtatiously, leaning down to give Jen another tender kiss. They broke away but stayed close, their noses almost touching.  
"That's right and don't forget it!"  
"I won't..." Tilly responded reassuringly, returning the smile. "You have no idea how tempting it is to get back in there with you".  
"mmm... that'd be nice" Jen replied, grabbing Tilly's singlet and pulling her back down towards her. Tilly lost her balance and put her hand on the bed, leaning over Jen. They started kissing again. Slowly, deeply, breathlessly. Getting distracted by each other once more.  
"Aa!" Tilly cried, the frustration obvious in her voice as she backed away "I've gotta go..."

She was not sure when they would get to see each other again. They had not talked about what would happen now, how it would all work. They hadn't had time. They had spent the last few hours ignoring all of the rules and logistics, and were much more pleasantly occupied. Wrapped up together, getting to know every inch of each other, their only focus on making the other feel good. Tilly wanted to leave the bus on a high, thinking about that, not worrying about the future. She just knew they had to find a way to snatch some time together.  
"I guess I'll see you around then..?" she said cheerfully  
Jen returned her smile "I guess you will..."  
Tilly winked, then leant down and gave Jen a playful slap on the bottom  
"catch ya later hot stuff!" she said as she walked towards the door. She checked to see if the coast was clear, before backing out with a cheeky grin, shutting the door behind her. Jen rolled over onto her back and sighed, putting both hands to her forehead. 'What a morning'.

Tilly made it up the garden path undiscovered, and could see that no one inside had surfaced yet. The house was a disaster zone, bottles, cans and items of clothing were strewn everywhere. In any other circumstance Tilly would have been a little disappointed to have missed what appeared to be a cracking party. But not today.

She took advantage of the quiet house and headed upstairs to have a shower. Whilst she was in there she thought about what had happened that morning. She could barely believe it all. Her head was buzzing. It was amazing. Finally they got a break. It was awesome to be together and just forget the world for a few precious hours. She kept running everything through her head - how soft Jen's skin felt, how she smelt so good, the cute noises Jen had made when Tilly touched her, how incredible she had felt hearing Jen breathe her name into her ear, how divine she had tasted. She had been pleasantly surprised that once Jen had resigned herself to it, stopped fighting it, she didn't hold back at all. It had felt so good to be the one making her lose control, lose all her barriers, give in to it all. She had looked so hot up close, hair in her eyes, tiny beads of sweat on her neck, biting her bottom lip in ecstasy. Tilly had loved feeling her quiver and moan at her touch. To say nothing of what Jen had done to Tilly in return. It had been an eventful morning.

She smiled to herself, thinking back to how she had been a little nervous about going to bed with Jen. She couldn't believe that now. The bus had been a soundtrack of gasps, moans and giggles that morning, and there was nothing scary, uncomfortable or awkward to worry about. It had been easy! The most simple and natural thing in the world. Their energy together had a will of its own and Tilly had just let it all happen. She was merely a passenger, along for the ride. But what a ride!

She could have stayed in Jen's bed all day, but they had to be so careful, to do everything they could to avoid getting caught. Now, she had no idea when they would get another chance to be together. Tilly knew one morning was not going to cut it. Jen was addictive, she realised that already, but now it was worse than ever. 'Shit!' she thought to herself 'the situation is impossible!'

Tilly got dressed and went down to the kitchen. She was starving. By now everyone was there, getting breakfast, making coffee, catching up on the gossip from the night before. Maddie and Chris walked through the kitchen, all loved up still, as she led him to the front door, giving him a very public kiss goodbye. Tilly looked away and smiled, she was pleased Maddie had met someone who was making her happy.

There was lots of hilarity in the conversation, with funny stories crossing the table. Tilly listened in, learning about the events of the previous night, knowing she had a story to tell that would blow them all out of the water. But she liked having her own secret about that, and she giggled along with the rest, pretending she knew what they were referring to.

After a little while Jen opened the back door and walked into the kitchen, equally hungry. Tilly made eye contact with her and they just about suppressed a knowing smile between them, keeping it casual in front of the others. She felt sure someone must be able to read it all over her face, the smile was hard to fight, and Jen looked like she was glowing! She seemed way too happy for someone who had potentially been kept awake all night by the party.  
"Morning guys!" Jen said cheerfully, stepping into the room  
"Hey Jen, hope we didn't keep you up last night!" Maddie replied  
"Oh you mean with the hundreds of strangers and thumping music?" she teased, then smiled "No that's fine. I popped a sleeping pill and slept like a log!"  
"Ooo! good! How many of those have you got!?" Maddie asked cheekily  
"Not enough!" replied Jen, smiling back at Maddie "I take it there are no casualties? Nothing to report to Diane?"  
"Sinead and Bart eloped, Tilly got a tattoo, you know... the usual!" Maddie grinned, joking with her.  
"Oh, well congratulations I guess!" she replied, looking at them, smiling. It seemed everyone was in good spirits today.

Tilly got up and walked past her to the benchtop and started making a sandwich. Jen leaned on the cupboards and sipped her tea, listening in to the conversation, looking at Tilly. Her mind wandered. Tilly looked really good. Her hair was wet from the shower and she was wearing a vest-shirt, tied up together over little shorts, her flat stomach poking through the gap, her legs all long and shapely. Jen thought Tilly was utterly gorgeous, and was feeling very lucky to know how it had felt, kissing that stomach, having those legs wrapped around her only a few moments earlier. Jen felt really proud of Tilly. She wanted to show her off to the world, but she knew she couldn't, not yet. She thought about how much she wanted to get Tilly back into her bed for more of the same, it hadn't even been an hour since she had left it! But already that was far too long. She had to think of a way, cook up some elaborate plan for them to snatch a moment together.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the conversation around the table as Maddie continued.  
"Hey Tills, thanks for letting me and Chris have the room last night, you are a legend."  
"Oh you're alright" Tilly replied, unable to resist a smile.  
"Where did you sleep?"

Tilly and Jen froze to the spot. Jen stared hard at her, waiting for her answer. Tilly gulped, she couldn't meet Jen's gaze. Her mind was racing. What could she say?


	11. Chapter 11

"Tills?" Maddie was waiting for her answer.

Tilly was in a panic. They hadn't sorted out a cover story in the end, they had got distracted by each other, and then Tilly had left. She shrugged nonchalantly, buying herself some time  
"I made do..."  
"What do you mean?" asked Maddie "How? Where?"  
"I... Er... I..." Tilly's mind had gone blank. Jen was willing her to say something believable. Her palms were sweating, and her heart was beating at a million times a minute  
"What Tills?"  
"I slept on the beach" Tilly replied, at a loss. 'That could work' she thought.

Almost immediately the kitchen erupted with noise. Pretty much everyone had an opinion. Sinead's was the loudest  
"You did WHAT!?"  
Jen saw her opportunity and seized it.  
"Tilly! That was unbelievably stupid, what on earth were you thinking!?"  
Tilly was defensive, confused why Jen would be giving her a hard time, but playing along  
"I wasn't gonna tell you, but I had no where else to go"  
"For God's sake Tilly!" cried Maddie "I'd never have taken Chris back there if I knew that's what you were gonna do! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?"  
"Alright, everyone calm down..." Tilly replied, her brain working overtime. Jen's was too, she had thought of a way to spin this to their advantage and she hoped Tilly was on the same page.  
"I won't calm down, Tilly!" she said, anger in her voice "I'm supposed to be responsible for you lot, what if something had happened to you, alone on the beach all night, all passed out on a sand dune!"  
Maddie agreed "She has a point Tilly..."  
"I had no choice!"  
"Rubbish!" Jen replied  
"No, really I didn't, all the beds were taken, the house was full of people, there was a party in the living room if you didn't notice..." Tilly was looking at Jen in disbelief. Why was she making this difficult?  
"Okay, okay..." Jen backed down, she had made her point, and didn't want to argue so much that she backed Tilly into a corner where the story could fall apart. "But there's got to be a better solution than that..."  
"Well I'm all ears" Tilly replied, in a huff, folding her arms, still in character, wondering where Jen intended to take this.

Everyone sat quietly, thinking for a while. Sinead spoke first  
"Well Maddie could just learn to keep it in her pants for a while!?" she said, teasing her friend  
"A practical solution, please" Maddie replied, smiling.  
"Are there any spare beds anywhere?" Jen asked. She knew what she wanted Maddie to say. It would be perfect if she could remember that there was a particular spare bed Jen knew about.  
"Well there's no space in our room..." Sinead continued, with Bart agreeing enthusiastically.  
Esther joined in "George and I are already on the sofas, so there's no more beds in the lounge."  
The kitchen fell quiet again, Maddie still said nothing. Jen gave up, wanting Maddie to suggest the spare bed was perhaps a step too far. She would have to do it herself. She spoke, trying to sound as casual as possible  
"Er... oh! Okay. Look, there's a kids bunk bed in my bus, above the driving seat, you could crash there..."  
"Oh yeah!" replied Maddie, suddenly remembering "yeah, that'd work! It's really comfy Tills..."

'Genius!' thought Tilly, the penny dropping as she realised what Jen had been thinking. Now it was up to her to be convincing in her response. She played along, flopping her arms on the table and rolling her eyes  
"Thanks, but no thanks"  
"I'm not going back to Diane and telling her you slept on the beach!" Jen replied sternly "if you have any better ideas, fine, but you find somewhere sensible to sleep or that's it, we're all going home now"  
Maddie didn't want that at all "C'mon Tilly... It's either you sleep there or in with me and Chris! We've only got 3 nights left. I'd owe you big time...!"  
Tilly hesitated  
"Do you snore Jen?" she asked, a small smile playing across her lips  
"I've never had any complaints..." Jen replied, less stern now, suppressing her own grin. They would have to be careful how they played this. She definitely didn't want to make suggestive comments to Tilly in front of the others, but she couldn't resist a little subtle flirt.

Tilly still hesitated, wanting to play it cool to make the story convincing. Jen rolled her eyes, putting her mug in the sink  
"whatever, sort it out between you, but I'm not having you sleep on the beach. Promise me Tilly. As long as you are safe and don't disturb me, I don't care what you do." And with that she turned and left the kitchen, going upstairs for a shower, confident that Tilly could finish off her plan.

Tilly watched her leave, impressed. That was a clever idea, if they could only make it work, make it seem natural. Once Jen was out of earshot, everyone started up again  
"What the hell, Tills!"  
"You can't sleep on the beach, alone!"  
"That was so bloody stupid!"  
Tilly was pleased with their reaction, this would all help.  
"Okay... Okay!" She replied, her face giving nothing away, playing her part.

Maddie was feeling bad for her friend so she took Tilly off to one side  
"Look, if you really don't want to sleep in the bus I'll tell Chris he can't stay. I can see if his mum will let us sleep at his house, it's just a bit awkward that's all"  
"No! Don't be silly, don't do that!". Tilly replied, she didn't want to protest too much, just enough so people didn't guess she was absolutely dying to sleep in the bus with Jen "Don't worry, I'll bunk in there, it'll be fine"  
Maddie was grateful "Are you sure?"  
Tilly smiled "yeah, I'm sure"  
"Thanks Tills! I owe you big time for this!"  
Tilly smiled back broadly "I'll let you make it up to me one day! Besides if she doesn't snore I may even sleep better in there."  
"What are you talking about? I don't snore!"  
Tilly teased her friend "of course you don't" she replied, smiling.  
Maddie grabbed her arm gently and pulled her close, speaking quietly  
"Yeah, but I know it can't be easy for you, being so close to her..."  
"Oh, don't be silly!" Tilly replied cheerfully "That's ancient history... it hadn't even crossed my mind till you just mentioned it."  
"Well only if you are positive you are okay"  
Tilly tried not to, but she couldn't stop smiling "It'll be fine..."

The rest of the day went incredibly slowly, for both of them. Jen had no idea whether Tilly had managed to pull off the plan, so spent the afternoon wondering if she would have a guest that night or not. Tilly knew she would be sleeping in the bus and couldn't wait for the sun to go down. She began to wonder when was a reasonable time to go to bed. Was nine too early? Ten? She passed the afternoon at the beach hanging out with the other teenagers. They were feeling hungover again so there was not a great deal of activity from them. As they walked past the bus, Tilly hung back to try to find Jen. She saw her sitting in the sand dunes, sketching, and caught her eye, giving her a very subtle nod and a smile to tell her it was all on. Jen's face broke immediately into the broadest of grins, before quickly looking back to her book. She kept smiling for a long time after Tilly had turned and continued to the beach, she couldn't help it.

That evening Tilly and her friends watched a movie in the lounge. Tilly couldn't concentrate. When could she go to bed? She couldn't be the first. She kept yawning, trying to influence the others to yawn too, but it wasn't working. Chris and Maddie were curled up on the sofa together, not concentrating on the movie either, and eventually they became too distracted by each other to carry on watching it, so they headed off to bed. Now she was free to go. Tilly yawned and stretched innocently  
"Night guys..." she said quietly  
"You off Tills?" George asked, turning around  
"Yeah, can't keep my eyes open" she replied, and went upstairs to clean her teeth, doing her normal bedtime routine, trying not to arouse suspicion.

Then she strolled outside to the bus.

Tilly's brain was telling her to walk slowly, but inside she was skipping down the path. She got to the door and knocked, straightening her clothes as she did so. It felt like a date. She suddenly wondered if she should have brought wine or something. Too late, the door swung open, so she walked in, shutting it behind her. Jen was standing in front of her, waiting. Tilly leaned back on the door and smiled at her, looking in her eyes for a minute.  
"Hey..."

Jen was looking flustered  
"What took you so long!?" she exclaimed as she grabbed Tilly, pulling her towards her. She tried to reply but Jen kissed her straight away. Her mouth was warm and soft but the kisses were hungry and wanting. Tilly responded just as enthusiastically.  
"Ahh... come here" Jen breathed between kisses, her hands wrapping around Tilly's waist, pulling her tight. Tilly gasped for air and lifted up Jen's t-shirt, pulling it over her head.  
"You...feel so good..." she replied, her breath faltering as she ran her fingers along Jen's stomach then up her sides.

Jen had been suffering. Waiting for Tilly to come to bed had been torture. She had no idea when to expect her, and now she was here she felt like she couldn't get near enough to her, couldn't hold her tightly enough, kiss her enough. Her hands fell to Tilly's blouse and she started pulling it from her waistband, pushing her hands underneath, desperate to touch her bare skin. Her kisses dropped to Tilly's neck as they fell back up against the door together, their hands roaming everywhere. Jen was seriously distracted, yet still had enough sense to reach next to Tilly and flip the deadlock.

Neither had expected to be with each other so soon, in these circumstances, and they knew they had to make the most of it. They grabbed onto each other tightly as, like before, the events took on a will of their own, and it all became incredibly intense really quickly. Once the door was locked there was no holding Jen back. Tilly loved seeing this passionate side of her, and liked the idea that she brought it out of her.

Jen undid Tilly's bra and tossed it wildly back, over her shoulder into the empty room.  
"Careful where you throw that!" Tilly joked breathlessly, referring to their conversation that morning. Jen giggled in reply and sighed, pausing to look in Tilly's eyes. The joke had brought her out of her haze, back to reality for a second, but she was too focused to stop completely. She smiled as her hands fell to Tilly's naked torso, cupping her breasts, running her thumbs slowly over her nipples as she did so. Tilly shivered, then moaned, her body ached for this.

Jen had been thinking about this moment with Tilly ever since she watched her leave her bed that morning, and now she had her alone, she was single minded. She dropped her hands down further to unbutton Tilly's shorts, never breaking their eye contact. Then she leaned in to kiss her again, slowly this time, deeper, but just as purposeful, as she inched Tilly's shorts and knickers down together over her hips, past her bottom, letting them drop to the floor between them. She was now completely naked, standing in front of Jen, clasping on to her. Tilly broke their kiss and looked down in mock outrage  
"how did that happen!?" she breathed.

Jen smiled, pleased with her work, as she held Tilly's gaze for a moment before continuing with her mission. She dropped her lips slowly down her body to tease her with deliciously warm kisses and touches wherever she could reach. They ventured irresistibly close to where Tilly _really_ wanted them, but stopped just short time after time, teasing her until she could stand it no longer. Tilly pulled Jen's face back up to meet hers and Jen responded with a breathtaking kiss, at the same time finally moving her hand to where Tilly craved it. Tilly gasped, as she welcomed her in  
"... I've... been thinking about you all day..." she breathed.  
"Mmmm... I can tell..."

Tilly was in a state. Jen's touch was incredible, like magic, expertly responding to what her body wanted. She could barely handle it, she moaned again, pushing herself against Jen as she dropped her lips again to Tilly's neck. Jen was entirely occupied, all her focus was on Tilly. But even now, in the midst of ecstasy, Tilly couldn't resist gently mocking Jen, and she knew now was the perfect time to do it, before losing herself completely. So she threw her head back, grabbed on to Jen's shoulders and cried out her safe word  
"Cauliflower!"

Jen creased up with laughter, her giggles muffled in Tilly's neck  
"You want me to stop!?" she joked in disbelief as their legs buckled and they collapsed onto the carpet in a heap, giggling, gasping for air.

"No, not really..."


	12. Chapter 12

"You are so bloody clever!" Tilly gasped, catching her breath. They were lying together, still on the floor. Tilly was naked, Jen was half-wearing a sock on her foot, but nothing else. Although they had fallen to the floor they had not had the will to get up again, and the rest of Jen's clothes had quickly found their way to join Tilly's, already strewn haphazardly around the bus. Everything except half a sock that is. Jen giggled, noticing it, and pulled it off, throwing it away. They were wrapped around each other, basking in the afterglow.  
Now it was Jen's turn to be mischievous. "Clever for what?"  
"You know..."  
"What? this?" she gestured to the two of them, lying naked together, the result of her plan "or that?" she raised an eyebrow, looking downwards, referring to what had just happened between them.  
"Ha ha! Both!" Tilly giggled, Jen was saying her own lines back to her. "But I mean with the sleeping arrangements..."  
"Oh! I know!" Jen replied, excitedly "I'm actually pretty proud of that little brain wave. Thank God you said that beach thing - it all just kind of snowballed from there!"  
"I thought you had lost your mind, giving me a hard time, telling me off. I was running out of excuses!"  
"All part of the plan... I had to put on my best disapproving teacher voice..."  
"Oo, I know, it turned me on!" Tilly winked, joking with her  
"Did it really!?"  
"Oo Yeah! Talk to me about textbooks..." Tilly giggled, rolling over on top of Jen, "Tell me all about the curriculum again..."

Jen laughed, pushing her off, kissing her back till they were side by side.  
"Talk about a mood-kill..." She said as she propped herself up on her elbow and put her spare hand on Tilly's stomach. "It was a pretty awesome idea though, even if I do say so myself..." Jen continued, feeling smug.  
"That's what I mean! Bloody clever!" Tilly giggled as she leaned back in towards Jen, giving her a long slow kiss, before dropping her lips to her neck, tracing a soft path up towards her ear.

"So..." started Jen.  
"mmmm?"  
"You'll be sleeping over there..." she said sarcastically, as she pointed to the tiny bunk bed above the drivers seat. It was decorated with kids' zoo stencils on the wall and had an alphabet duvet cover.  
Tilly stopped her kisses, pulling her face level with Jen's "If I'm sleeping there, you're coming with me..."  
"Mmm... cosy..."  
"Its better than the floor though" Tilly replied, suddenly realising they could be a lot more comfortable.  
"True." Jen agreed, as she stood up, holding out her hands to pull Tilly up too. She gave her a little kiss on the nose as Tilly's face came up to meet hers, and they stood there completely naked together.  
"But, it'd feel a bit wrong having all that sex with the whole animal kingdom looking on" she said cheekily as she took Tilly's hand and lead her over to the big bed at the back of the bus instead. Tilly followed her willingly, beaming from ear to ear.

They flopped down on the bed next to each other, snuggling in together under the duvet, getting comfortable. Tilly felt wide awake.  
"I don't want to sleep" she said "it feels like such a waste."  
"Yeah, I know. I'll get us some wine for tomorrow night, sneak out some food."  
"I was thinking that too! It sort of felt like a bit of a date, walking out here..."  
"This isn't a date."  
"It isn't?"  
"No." Jen replied, her face serious. "One day, I'm going to take you on a proper first date, when we can actually be together." she paused, the idea of what she was saying sinking in. "I mean, without one of us getting arrested that is."  
"That'd be nice" Tilly replied excitedly "The date I mean. A date would be amazing."  
"It really would. I'd love to be able to pick you up from your home, hold your hand in public, give you a big old smooch on the street."  
"Where would you take me?"  
"Hmmm..." Jen paused, thinking for a moment. "I'd take you to Paris"  
"Paris!? Wow! That's a bit flashy! I'd have been happy with the local pub but okay, if you want to pull out the big guns, Paris it is!" she replied enthusiastically. "Though, I hope you don't think I'm gonna sleep with you on the first date..."  
"Oh!" Jen replied, disappointed.  
"Not that kinda girl..."  
Jen raised an eyebrow. "okay, maybe Paris could be the... third date?"  
Tilly shook her head  
"Fifth?"  
"Maybe..."  
Jen giggled.  
"Depends how honourable your intentions are" teased Tilly  
"Hmmm... not massively honourable" Jen replied, pulling Tilly in to her "more... 'immoral'!" she said, sliding her hand down and grabbing on to her bottom, giving it a little squeeze. Tilly smiled, meeting her lips as they sunk into another of their all consuming kisses. Tilly dropped her hand down Jen's body, it felt all warm on Jen's skin as it inched it's way along to her hip and down around the curve of her bottom. Jen let out a small moan, into their kiss, as her skin prickled, her eyes closed, lost once again. Tilly broke away to lay soft kisses on her shoulder, before Jen pulled her back up to her lips once more, pulling her over so she was more on top of her. Tilly's leg slotted between Jen's as she rested her weight between her thighs. Moving till she was comfortable and until Jen let out a gasp as she positioned herself where Jen's body couldn't help but react.

"What would we do?" Tilly breathed, breaking the kiss, their faces close.  
"Mmmm... when?"  
"In Paris! God, you are **_so_** easily side-tracked aren't you!?"  
Jen giggled. "Well you are quite a distraction..." she replied, pausing again to think, as Tilly wrapped her arms around her, her body moving as she did so, her thigh still pressed against her, making Jen lose her concentration. Jen swallowed and tried to focus.  
"I'd... take you to the Louvre, I've never been before and I've always wanted to go. You would love it!"  
Tilly stopped "You've never been? I thought you of all people would have!"  
"Nope. Have you?"  
Tilly nodded  
"Really? And?" Jen asked, excitedly.  
Tilly paused, shrugging her shoulders "...Meh!" she replied dismissively, teasing her.  
Jen's face fell. She looked hurt. Tilly couldn't stand it. "Only kidding! I'd love to go, I've never been either."  
"Oo that was cruel, crushing all my excitement like that, throwing it all back in my face" Jen protested, smiling  
"Yeah I know, I couldn't resist"  
"That smart mouth of yours will get you in all sorts of trouble one day you know..."  
Tilly pulled Jen close again, squeezing her tight. She leaned in for another kiss, then she slowly parted her lips, teasing her gently with the tip of her tongue, sucking her lip in between her own. Soft, warm, smooth.  
"Promise?"

And that's how they spent the next two nights. Pretending to ignore each other in the day, having the time of their lives at night, it was like a dream. The days went too slowly, the nights too quickly. It was thrilling. They were loving it. They knew it was temporary, it had to come crashing down at some point. They knew they had to make the most of it now, it would all be over too soon. They had to live in the moment.

It was difficult though, Tilly's friends had lots of plans and always wanted to go out at night, so it got harder and harder to get out to the bus at a decent hour without arousing suspicion. By the time Tilly arrived it would already be past ten, past eleven, nearly midnight. Jen hated waiting for her. They knew they only had the nights together so once Tilly arrived they had a lot to catch up on. They were getting very little sleep, so they were both utterly exhausted during the day, then just riding the buzz they had created between them, the energy of being together at night.

It all spilled over into the daytime hours too. They kept finding excuses to be around each other, taking risks to grab a quick snog in the sand dunes, the bathroom, a fumble in the pantry before someone walked in. Then, whenever they were in the company of the others they enjoyed appearing nonchalant, almost rude to each other. Always taking the opportunity to appear disinterested, take the mickey, it only turned them on more throughout the day, making the night time together more hot.

Once alone in the bus they passed many hours wrapped up together, talking, giggling, getting to know each other properly, finding out what made the other one tick. They talked about what they both wanted to do, what their plans were, how they saw the future panning out. They had a lot in common, their ages were the only major difference. Right now, at seventeen and twenty one, four years seemed a lot. It was the difference between A-levels and graduating University, living with your parents and the independence of your first time away from home. Freedom and responsibility. Jen knew the age gap would mean nothing in a few years time, maybe even in a years time, but Jen had changed a lot in those first few years away from home, she had figured out who she was. She knew she was quite different from her seventeen year old self. She wondered how much Tilly would change once she left home. She was jealous of what lay ahead for Tilly. Jen had loved Uni. She'd love to go back there, have those years again.

And so before they knew it, it was the last day. Jen woke first, around ten. She was disappointed they had slept in, she knew Tilly would need to leave the bus soon before it looked suspicious. She cuddled up close to her, kissing her neck.  
"Mmmmm..." Tilly moaned sleepily, stirring, waking up "I was just having the most delicious dream"  
"What about?" Jen replied, still kissing her.  
"Now you are doing that, I don't even remember..."  
"Well we need to talk..."  
"Oh no... I don't like it when we do that" Tilly replied, pulling Jen away from her neck, to look in her eyes, her face serious. "I usually end up a bit heartbroken whenever we 'need to talk'"  
"Not this time"  
"Oh good!" Tilly smiled "well then... you may continue..."  
"Well, you know tonight..." Jen started. Tilly interrupted her  
"No, I meant continue with the kissing stuff..."  
Jen giggled, and lowered her head again, returning her lips to Tilly's body  
"But it makes talking so much harder..." she replied, her voice muffled  
"That's the idea"  
"Shit, you really have an answer for everything don't you?" Jen joked, pulling away from her, looking at her properly.  
"Sorry..." Tilly smiled "you were saying...?"

"Well, you know tonight is our last night together?"  
Tilly looked sad, not joking anymore "yes, I know"  
"And every night you have been getting later and later before you come to bed"  
"Now, that is most definitely not my fault!"  
"I know... but do you think you could get away early tonight? Say you have a headache or something?"  
Tilly smiled "Yeah, I will. Definitely".  
"Great!" Jen replied, smiling. Tilly looked back at her, their eyes locked, sparkling together, smiling just as broadly. They held the look for a moment longer before Tilly spoke again.  
"Now, what were you just doing with those kisses?..."

Once she had finally dragged herself away, Tilly walked up to the house and into the kitchen. As she shut the door Chris accidentally shoulder barged her on his way out of the house  
"Sorry Tills!" he shouted back to her. Tilly looked confused.  
"Hey, dirty stopout!" Bart said, leaning against the kitchen counters "rough night?"  
"No?"  
"You look a bit tired mate"  
"I'm good" she replied, hoping Bart couldn't see through her  
"You sure? Jen keeping you up at night?" he winked. Tilly started to panic. 'Did he know something?'. She didn't know what to say, and felt her cheeks blush. She smiled a half smile and continued past him, into the living room.

Maddie was sitting on the sofa, tears streaming down her face. George and Sinead were comforting her.  
"What's happened?" Tilly asked, confused.  
"He's just an arsehole, Tills, there's nothing more to say." Maddie replied, venom in her voice.  
"Have you and Chris had a fight?"  
"Something like that"  
"You can work it out can't you?"  
"I doubt it!" Maddie replied "Whatever, it's old news already" she shrugged, full of bravado.  
"Really?"  
"Yup!" Maddie got up, she was putting a brave face on it all, over compensating, pretending she wasn't upset. "Fuck it! Its our last night, We're going out and getting shit faced tonight."

Tilly's face fell. This was going to be difficult to avoid.  
"And on the bright side" she said as she walked towards Tilly, throwing an arm over her shoulder, giving her a bump with her hips "You don't have to sleep in the bus tonight!"

Tilly swallowed, managing a half-smile.  
"Yay..."


	13. Chapter 13

Tilly was gutted. All of a sudden, through no fault of her own, she was faced with missing out on her last night with Jen. Now it wasn't about whether she could get away early tonight, but whether she could even get there at all. She was upstairs in the shower, thinking it all through, trying not to panic. She had to be calm, methodical, clever. She knew there would be a way around this, she just needed to be smart about it. She figured she had a basic plan and a backup plan.

Plan A. Go and sleep in the bus anyway, blame it on Maddie's snoring. In fact, now she thought about it she didn't know why she hadn't said that before, when Maddie brought it up. Her mind had gone blank at the time.

Plan B. Get Chris and Maddie back together. Unfortunately, she knew that was potentially easier said than done. Plan A was definitely more appealing.

Tilly finished her shower and went downstairs to talk to Maddie, eventually finding her on the beach. Tilly approached her carefully. She knew what Maddie was like, how she was prone to blow things out of proportion, and she was determined that whatever drama had unfolded between her and Chris, it was not going to affect her last night with Jen. As annoying as it was, she would have to tread carefully with her.  
"Are you ok hun?" she asked as she sat down next to her.  
Maddie smiled halfheartedly "yeah..."  
Tilly put her hand on her arm.  
"What did you guys argue about?"  
"The fact that he's a selfish twat!" Maddie replied, angrily  
"Hmmm... Well I can see how you may have a difference in opinion about that..."

Maddie explained their argument. "Well it's our last night together, for God knows how long, maybe forever."  
"Yeah..." Tilly replied, this was sounding all too familiar.  
"So I'm gutted, right?"  
"Of course"  
"And I wanted to do something really special for the two of us."  
"Right."

Tilly knew exactly what Maddie was talking about. This was the same predicament that her and Jen were facing. She had a certain amount of sympathy for Maddie's situation, yet her own relationship was troubling her more. Because it had to remain a secret it was vulnerable to outside influences like this one. And unbeknownst to her, Maddie was the one threatening her own happiness. She wished she could just tell her all about it, explain that she understood how she felt, that she too needed to spend one last night with someone, but Jen had made it clear no one was to know, it was too risky.  
"I mean we've just had such a lovely holiday together, and I really felt like he was thinking the same as me." Maddie continued.  
"But he's not?"  
"No, he's out with his mates tonight."  
"Can he meet you later?"  
"That's not the point."  
"Well, what is the point?"  
"The point is he would rather hang out with his mates than me. I don't think he cares about me at all!"  
"Did he say why he has to go out with them?"  
"What reason could he possibly have that is more important?"

Tilly shrugged. She couldn't believe the comparison between Maddie's situation and her own. Maddie was so lucky in comparison. Tilly had to grab tiny snippets of time with Jen, in the middle of the night when no one was looking, and here Maddie was, throwing her toys because the guy she had spent all week with couldn't spend every last minute of his night with her. It was ridiculous.  
"Whatever". Maddie shrugged, putting her indignant face back on, "It doesn't matter. What shall we do tonight!? Where shall we go?"

Much as Tilly wanted to support her friend right now, her problems seemed trivial in comparison. Tilly spent her whole life being there for Maddie when no one else would, and right now, for once, Tilly needed to look after herself, secure her last night with Jen. Time to try for Plan A.  
"Listen Mads, about tonight... I might sleep in the bus anyway."  
"Really? why?"  
"You snore. And I've been sleeping so much better out there"  
"Can't you stay with me? I'd really appreciate it."  
"I would, but I don't sleep well, you're too loud!"  
"Look Tills, I promise I won't snore, and if I do - which I don't - you can kick me."  
"Yeah but I'll be knackered if I keep having to kick you all night"  
"Chris never mentioned my snoring"  
"Well maybe that's just cos he's a decent guy..."  
"C'mon Tills I know I'm not that bad"  
"You are! even worse if you've been drinking."  
"Well then I wont drink too much tonight, I promise. Stay with me Tills, I don't wanna sleep alone, not tonight."  
"Mads..." Tilly was worried. Why was Maddie not letting it go? Why was she was being so insistent. Tilly knew she couldn't complain too much or it would seem suspicious. Maddie had to let her go easily, or she couldn't go at all.  
"I don't get it!" Maddie continued "You've seemed really irritated with Jen all week. I would have thought you wanted some time apart. I've been feeling bad these last few nights, forcing you in there with her. It seems really awkward and uncomfortable, like you don't even like her. I thought it was a big pain in the arse for you."  
'Damn', Tilly thought, 'we've been too convincing'. She supposed it was a good thing, it had been what they had wanted, to throw everyone off the scent, but now it was backfiring on them.  
"She's not that bad..." Tilly shrugged, not sure what else to say.

Maddie looked back at Tilly, her eyes were troubled. She paused, then spoke honestly.  
"Listen, I wasn't going to tell you," she started, her voice breaking, on the edge of tears. "But the whole reason we are here this week is cos my parents are splitting up." As she said the last words her shoulders shuddered and the flood gates opened. She started crying properly. Big sobs, like she had been holding them back for weeks.

Tilly was shocked, and genuinely concerned for her friend "Really Mads? I'm so sorry..." Tilly put her arm around her. " What happened? When?"  
Maddie explained it all, her father's affair, the impending divorce, selling the house, how it was making her feel. She seemed genuinely vulnerable, almost childlike. Maddie's family was dysfunctional at the best of times, replacing love and attention with money, but now it appeared it was finally broken. That's why Tilly and Maddie were so close. Maddie received a lot of the things she was missing from her family, the closeness, the affection, the support, through her friendship with Tilly. Maddie explained how Chris had made her happy, made her forget all of her family woes for a bit, but now they were close to going back home the reality was sinking in and she was getting upset again. Their argument this morning had been the last straw, she was feeling really low.  
"Will you bunk in with me tonight? Please Tills? It would mean a lot to me."  
Tilly paused.  
"Please... don't make me beg..."  
Tilly couldn't say no. She had never seen Maddie this upset before. She couldn't leave her abandoned. "Okay..." She half-smiled.

She would need to think of another way. Plan B it was. She would have to get Chris and Maddie back together.

She spent the next few hours working hard, talking it all over with Maddie, trying to reduce her anger towards Chris. She went through everything, defending Chris' choice, trying to talk him up, trying to diffuse the situation.  
"Who's side are you on?" Maddie asked eventually.  
"I'm not on anyone's side." Tilly protested. And yes, she thought, she was doing this for her own ends. There were major selfish motivators at work here. But she liked Chris. He was good for Maddie, and seemed to really like her. Tilly knew Maddie felt the same, she was just so good at sabotaging her own happiness by being too proud. It drove Tilly mad at the best of times.

Tilly then went into town looking for Chris. She wasn't sure how to get in touch with him. She looked all over, before trying the cafe they had met him in for lunch a few days before. The staff told her he was at his job at the hotel just out of town. It took Tilly just under an hour to walk there. She wondered what on earth she was doing, going to all this effort, but she knew her night with Jen would be worth it. She managed to catch Chris on a break. It turned out the reason he could not meet Maddie was that he was supposed to go on his brother's stag night. Not something he could easily ditch for a girl he had only met that week. Tilly completely understood, and thought Maddie was being unfair. Chris seemed genuinely upset about what had happened, and explained to her that he had liked Maddie a lot, but her reaction to him going on the stag do had really put him off.  
"Was she always this selfish?" he asked her.  
Tilly explained why Maddie was the way she was, that deep down she was a good person, and that it was only because he meant so much to her. She told him that she had not seen Maddie this happy for a long time. Chris still seemed confused.  
"Women!" he exclaimed in frustration.  
"Yup!" Tilly agreed, and they shared a giggle, connecting with each other. With that, he softened, and Tilly eventually managed to convince him to meet them that night, in the pub at ten. It was the earliest he could make it and even though Tilly was already supposed to be at Jen's by nine. It would have to do.

Tilly walked home. It was gone five by this point. She had spent the day trying to sort everything out. She was exhausted. It had been a lot of effort and it was still not sorted yet. All she wanted to do right now was curl up with Jen and enjoy their last night together. She needed to let her know what was happening, so she went to the bus when she arrived back at the house, on the pretense she was picking up her pyjamas. The same pyjamas that had sat unworn on the bunk bed in the bus all week. Jen wasn't there, and with no cellphone reception all she could do was leave a note.

'_Major dramas. Have to get m and c back together so I can sleep here tonight. Meeting c in The Ship at 10. Wish me luck. xxx._'

She was originally going to leave it on the coffee table, but she had second thoughts, worried that it could get discovered if anyone else went into the bus looking for them. She had to think quickly, so she tucked in into Jen's book, next to the bookmark, hoping she would see it, then left another note on the coffee table which just said

'_book!_'.

She hoped that would be all the lead Jen would need to find it, yet not arouse suspicion if anyone else walked in.

And so it was time to head into town. Tilly couldn't think of anything worse. Jen had still not returned to the bus so she had no idea if she would get the message. Tilly knew she had a tough night ahead of her, refereeing between Maddie and Chris. On a list of possible things she wanted to do that night, it was at the absolute bottom. She thought of Jen's lips waiting for her. She thought of climbing into bed with her. The smoothness of her skin, brushing her hair away from her neck, laying kisses on her stomach. She closed her eyes to enjoy the daydream, breathing slowly, psyching herself up for what lay ahead, as they walked into the first pub.

Meanwhile, Jen finally arrived back at the bus. She had just missed the gang as they left. She had been out all day, exploring the nearby villages and beaches. She had accidentally stumbled across a boutique French shop and patisserie, and was thrilled, suddenly having an idea for a special last night for her and Tilly. She bought french wine, brie, baguettes, the whole lot, and was planning to create a bit of a 'first date', as they had discussed earlier in the week, as much as she could do in the confines of the bus. She was excited. She was trying not to think beyond tonight. She had no idea what would happen when they left Abersoch, and in her heart she couldn't think of a way forward that involved them continuing to be together. It was utterly depressing, and only made tonight all the more important. She breezed in through the open door, the wind from the beach blowing Tilly's note from the coffee table and down onto the floor. She looked at her watch. It was 8.30. She smiled, Tilly was due to arrive soon.

In town, things weren't going well for Tilly. Maddie was on a desperate mission to have an 'amazing' night without Chris, but it was all pretend, and everyone knew it. Tilly sat there nursing her drink, wishing she was in the bus with Jen, waiting for Chris to turn up so that he could make up with Maddie.

Out in the bus, Jen rolled her eyes and looked at her watch, disappointed. It was an hour later than Jen had expected Tilly and she still wasn't there. She wondered what could have happened, or what could be more important. She had already opened the wine and drunk a glass, but she didn't want to drink the rest without Tilly. She picked up her book in frustration, trying to distract herself from her thoughts, when Tilly's note fell out onto her lap. She picked it up and looked at it. Reading it, her face fell.

Back in town, the time ticked past, and Tilly's evening was going from bad to worse. Chris had finally turned up, and Tilly had brought him over to talk to Maddie, but straight away they had argued. Tilly had tried her hardest to smooth things over but with no luck. They were only getting more angry with each other. It was clear they were not going to make up. Tilly looked at her watch. She knew Jen would be waiting for her. 'Shit!' she thought, she was getting desperate now. She went outside for some fresh air, to clear her head.

As she was standing on the deck overlooking the beach, wondering what she was going to do, she felt a warm hand on hers.

It was Jen! She grabbed her and pulled her down off the deck, onto the beach and behind some bushes in the sand dunes, away from the view of the pub. Tilly squealed and threw her arms around her, kissing her. Jen kissed her back just as enthusiastically. Conversation could wait.

Eventually, breathless, they broke apart.  
"What are _you_ doing here!?"  
"What are you _still_ doing here? What's going on?" Jen countered.  
"Ugh... It's a nightmare Jen..." Tilly started to explain how difficult it was to get Maddie and Chris back together.  
"Yeah but why do you care if they split up? You need to stop being such a good friend and be a bit selfish, just for tonight!"  
"Cos if I can't get them back together I have to sleep in Maddie's room!"  
"Oh shit, really? How come?"  
"It's a long story. But getting them back together is our only hope."  
"Seriously?"  
"Seriously. Unless I'm allowed to tell her about us?"  
"No! Absolutely not."  
"Then that's it!"  
"Shit..." Jen was gutted. They paused, looking at each other, the reality of the situation hitting them. Tonight was so incredibly important to both of them, it seemed unbelievably unfair that their happiness was dependent on other people.

Tilly rolled her eyes. "You have no idea how good it'll feel one day when I can tell them I don't want to know about their drama, I just want to go to bed with my girlfriend!"  
Jen smiled, "girlfriend...?"  
"Err..." Tilly looked embarrassed, had she been too presumptuous?  
Jen carried on smiling, catching Tilly's eyes with her own. Tilly returned the grin. They paused, sharing the silence together, letting the words sink in.

Jen eventually broke the quiet. "Work fast Tilly!" She said, before kissing her again. "You are a clever girl, You'll think of something.."  
"Hmmm...". Tilly replied unconvincingly "Speaking of which, I'd better go back and try."  
"Yeah. How would you rate your chances?"  
"Ugh, right now? Honestly? Not good..." Tilly said, glumly.  
"What will you do if you can't sort it?"  
"Er... cry?" she replied. They looked at each other, both feeling very sad at the thought they might not get to be together tonight, knowing it was their last chance.

"Why don't I just come with you now?" Tilly asked.  
"Cos they will look for you. They can't find out, remember?"  
"No, I know, I will sort it." Tilly continued confidently. "Don't worry."  
Jen held her hands, looking at her. "Try hard! Like your life depends on it."  
"What do you think I'm doing!?"

"Ok..." Jen started, moving her hands to Tilly's top, bringing her closer, her face serious, upset at the situation they had found themselves in "Well I'm gonna kiss you goodbye now then. Don't let it be the last one." Her face broke into a suggestive smile, echoing Tilly's comment from the bus earlier in the week. She leaned in, pulling her towards her, for an incredible, smouldering kiss. They held onto each other for a long time, kissing tenderly, deeply, again and again, neither wanting to stop, knowing it may be their last. Tilly's body instantly responded to Jen. Her legs felt weak, her eyes closed, running her hands into Jen's hair as Jen wrapped her arms tightly around her. Tilly could get lost in Jen in a heartbeat. She felt incredible, her body pressed up against her.

They eventually pulled apart, and Jen backed away slowly,  
"I'm not ready to say goodbye yet" she said, her voice faltering a little, trying to smile, but not doing very well.  
Tilly swallowed, blinking the tears away "Me neither" she replied as she watched Jen turn and walk away, down the beach. Her heart felt heavy. The thought of not being with Jen tonight was utterly devastating.

Tilly straightened her clothes, pulling herself together, then she headed back to the pub, knowing what she needed to do. As she emerged from the bushes she walked straight into Bart who was standing outside, smoking.  
"Oi oi! What have you been doing then!?" He teased  
"Nothing, just getting some air"  
"Air!? In the bushes?!" Bart replied, mocking her. Tilly was not in the mood. She had other things on her mind.

"Have you seen Chris and Maddie?"  
"Yeah. Holy crap she is in mega-bitch mode tonight. What did he do to her? I've never seen her this pissed off!"  
"Why, what's happened now?"  
"She just slapped him! He told her to fuck off. I think he's left with his mates now."

Tilly's heart began to race in panic.

Bart continued "I'm so glad she's not _my_ girlfriend!"

Tilly's face dropped. She felt like she had been hit in the stomach, she wanted to scream in frustration. All she could do was let out a long sigh at the enormity of the task that lay ahead for her.

'Fuuuucckkkk...'


	14. Chapter 14

_To those of you who have taken the time to leave reviews, thank you SO much. I really appreciate it. Its my first try at one of these and i am surprised and grateful for your opinions. Hope you are still enjoying the story. Tt x_

Tilly ran as fast as she could. Catching up with Chris before he disappeared out of sight. She tried her utmost to talk him round but he was adamant. Tilly hung her head and started back slowly, in the direction of the pub. When she got there Maddie was feeling just as angry, just as stubborn. She wouldn't discuss it. Tilly's world was unraveling. She was beside herself, at a loss how to move forwards.

Meanwhile, Jen walked back along the beach. Her mind was buzzing, working overtime. She felt distraught that she might miss seeing Tilly tonight. It had made her suddenly think beyond the end of the holiday. She had been avoiding thinking about their future, just enjoying being with Tilly, being in the moment, always knowing they had tonight as a last night before reality came crashing down around them when they went back home. But now, not being able to see Tilly as planned had brought forward all of those feelings she was trying not to think about. She wasn't sure how she would deal with ending it all. Last time, after the polaroid discovery, their relationship had ended before it had really begun, but now they had spent this amazing week together, where they had got on really well, made each other laugh, been intimate with each other, had incredible fun in bed, bared their souls, shared their innermost thoughts. They had made a really strong connection. Jen just had to look at Tilly and her mind would wander off into pleasant daydreams. But they wouldn't get a chance to realise any of it.

Jen felt desperate. She knew they had to end but the thought made her feel physically ill. She wondered if it had been a bad idea in the first place, acting on their attraction this week. Should they not have done so? It would have meant they didn't have to deal with the heartbreak now, the separation would have been so much easier. But she knew the answer. She wouldn't have changed this week with Tilly for anything. As she got closer to the bus she stopped, and turned to look towards the sea. 'Fuck it!' she thought and ran straight in, peeling her clothes off as she went. Hoping the cool water might help her feel better.

Tilly took herself off to the toilets to collect her thoughts. She stood there, looking in the mirror, the time ticking past. It felt like it was speeding up, spiraling out of control. She had to think fast, she needed to come up with an alternative solution. Maddie and Chris were hopeless. Her mind raced until eventually she thought of a Plan C. It was tenuous at best. Definitely risky. She could go home now, saying she was ill, and grab an hour or so with Jen before the others arrived home. It was dodgy, she could get discovered out in the bus with Jen, but Tilly had had enough. It was time to take back control of her own life, and get what she wanted for a change.

She found Maddie at the bar.  
"Hey Mads, look, I'm feeling really rough, I think I'm gonna head home"  
"What's wrong mate?"  
"Just haven't been able to shake the headache I've had all day. Drink is making it worse. I think I just need to sleep."  
"Good idea, Tills!"  
"Thanks hun" Tilly said, "I'll see you at home?"  
"Nah, I'll come with you, I'm not having much fun tonight"  
"No, no, you stay here." This was not what Tilly wanted at all.  
"No way, taking you home is the least I can do. Besides I want to come with you." Maddie said smiling, as she reached for her jumper.

'Shit!' Tilly thought, 'Give me a break!' She protested further but it was no good. Maddie was coming too.

As they were walking home Tilly's mind was working hard. That wasn't exactly how she had wanted it to go, but as she thought about it she smiled to herself, perhaps Maddie would have an early night. That way once Maddie was asleep she could leave for the bus, then get back first thing in the morning before she woke. That could work. 'Hmmm...' she thought 'What plan am I up to now? Was this Plan D?' She had lost count. This latest idea was just as risky as the last one, maybe more so. During the night Maddie could always come looking for her in the bus. She could say she had left to escape her snoring, but Maddie would have to not find her in a compromising position with Jen. It was not ideal, but it was the best option open to her right now.

Jen arrived back at the bus. She was cold and wet from her swim. The bus was in darkness and the evening was turning chilly. Summer was nearly over and she could feel it tonight. It felt cold being there without Tilly. Jen felt even worse when she turned the light on and saw the half drunk bottle of wine and all her french food she had carefully prepared, remembering how excited she had been with her idea of a first date. Tilly's jumper was thrown haphazardly over the chair, her shoes were still by the door, her handwritten note was on the table. Everywhere she looked there was Tilly, just no _actual_ Tilly. She picked up her sketchbook, and saw the studies she had done of her, and let out a sigh. She looked at the bed - it seemed so big and lonely, and far too large just for her. She felt really low, and realised how desperate she was for Tilly to fix everything so that she could come to her that night. The situation felt out of her control, and she didn't like it.

When Tilly and Maddie returned to the house, Tilly immediately looked outside to the bus. The light was still on. She was pleased. There was still time if she was quick. She stretched and yawned  
"I'm going to turn in now." She said casually  
"Ok hun, sleep tight" Maddie replied, over her shoulder, walking into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine.  
"Are you not coming?"  
"Not just yet, gonna stay up for a bit longer I think"  
Tilly was losing patience "How much longer do you think?"  
"Does it matter?"  
"Oh!" Tilly stumbled, trying to sound relaxed "Just that I don't want you to wake me when you get in"  
"I won't I promise, off you go, feel better soon!" Maddie said with a smile, turning the TV on and settling down in front of it, pouring herself a glass of wine.

'ARGH!' Tilly thought, wanting to scream at the top of her lungs! She left the lounge feeling puzzled, and wandered upstairs. She sat down on Maddie's bed, her brain working overtime. How was she going to sort this out? The only thing she wanted to do was spend the last few hours with Jen before it was all over again for God knows how long, maybe forever. A year was a long time to expect Jen to wait for her. She was gutted it had to end tomorrow. She hoped Jen would change her mind and that they would continue in secret, but deep down she knew that wasn't going to happen. And she also knew it wasn't fair to ask Jen to do that, no matter how much they both wanted to. Jen had everything to lose if they were found out, and Tilly did understand. She wasn't always good at acting like it, and she didn't agree with the stupid laws that dictated it, but she understood that they had to operate within those laws, as much as they could, for the sake of Jen's future. She was prepared for it all to be over tomorrow.

Which was why tonight was so incredibly important.

Out in the bus, Jen looked at her watch again. It was past 1am. She sighed to herself, Tilly was not coming. She was not going to wait up all night for her. She felt bereft. Obviously Tilly hadn't been able to work something out. Jen was surprised at just how upset she was, she actually felt like she could cry, and small tears formed in her eyes. 'Well. I guess that's it then!' she thought to herself, before taking her clothes off and sitting down on the bed, her shoulders hunched, a frown on her face. She just felt so incredibly disappointed. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. The thought of a whole school year without being able to be with Tilly was hard to bear. She grabbed some paper and wrote a note for Tilly, just on the off-chance some kind of miracle happened and she was able to come to the bus. She left it on the floor just inside the door. It simply said

_WAKE ME!_

Then she turned off the light and settled down under the covers, her heart heavy.

Up in Maddie's bedroom, Tilly looked out of her window to see the light flick off. 'Shit!' she thought to herself and crept downstairs again to check on Maddie. She was still sat in the lounge, changing channels on the TV, in no hurry to leave, drinking more and more wine.

Tilly had to get her to come to bed somehow.

She walked into the lounge and stood next to her, looking at her disapprovingly.  
"I thought you weren't gonna drink too much tonight, Maddie?" she said.  
"Chill out, buddy! I thought you were going to bed" Maddie replied aggressively. She was obviously still in a bad mood over Chris.  
Tilly's eyes narrowed, she was feeling really irritated now. Not only was Maddie unwittingly preventing her from seeing Jen, but as far as Maddie knew, she had promised Tilly she was not going to drink much, so that she wouldn't snore and keep her awake all night. Yet here she was breaking her promise, doing what she wanted, being selfish again. Tilly wasn't really worried about Maddie snoring, in fact she wanted her to, it would make her story more credible, but by drinking the way she was, she was just displaying how self centered she was, how she didn't really care about anyone else, Tilly included. Tilly was starting to feel like a doormat, added to which, Maddie's rediculous behaviour and attitude towards Chris was preventing her from being with Jen. Tilly's eyes were burning a hole in the back of Maddie's head.

She turned around to Tilly "Off you go Hun, I'm gonna wait up for the others. Feel better soon." and she gave her a smile.

Tilly felt like she was going to explode, but what could she do? She walked out of the room, irritated beyond belief. But she knew she couldn't have a go at Maddie, or she may not come to bed. Tilly started walking up the stairs, then stopped, thinking hard. 'Plan D will only work if Maddie comes to bed. What if she falls asleep in the lounge? What possible excuse could I come up with then?' Tilly's brain hurt. It had all in all been a nightmare of an evening from start to finish. She tried to think of Plan E, wondering if there even was one. She thought of Jen, lying in bed, sleeping without her. She put her fingers to her lips, remembering their incredible kiss from earlier that evening. Maybe it really was the last one, a kiss goodbye. As Tilly stood there on the stairs, wondering what she could do, there was a knock at the door. Tilly opened it to find Chris standing there!

This was Tilly's last chance. She instinctively reached out to him and hugged him. He took a step back, surprised. Tilly apologised  
"long night..." she said by way of explanation, then brought him into the lounge.  
Maddie was immediately defensive "What the hell is he doing here?"  
"Can you give us a minute, Chris?" Tilly asked politely, smiling at him, covering for her friend. He went outside onto the deck, at which point Tilly pulled Maddie aside and laid it all out for her. She spoke quietly but firmly, calmly putting her in her place. She didn't normally talk to Maddie like that, but she had snapped. She had enough, it had been the most frustrating day, and her happiness was at stake.

"Look Mads, I'm going to be honest with you here. Your pride is your biggest enemy. Chris really likes you, otherwise he wouldn't be here. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face. Just enjoy the fact that you can be together at all. Plenty of people can't. You've had a wonderful holiday with him. I've never seen you this happy. Now stop behaving like an idiot and give the guy a break!"

Maddie looked at her surprised, saying nothing  
"I mean it Maddie, your attitude sucks. Pull your neck in, act like a grown up, and let yourself be happy."

They were harsh words, but this was Tilly's last chance. She had pulled out all the stops, it was close to 2am now.

Not waiting for a reply from Maddie, Tilly let Chris back in, and retreated to the kitchen, hoping desperately that she had done enough. She sat quietly, looking out at the dark windows of the bus. She could hear raised voices from the lounge, then it all went quiet. She gave it another 5 minutes, then went back to the doorway to check on them. They were stood in the middle of the room, wrapped around each other, kissing. Tilly turned away from them and gave a silent fist pump in the air, mouthing 'YES!' in triumph. Maddie saw her reflection in the window.  
"What are you doing Tills!?"  
'Shit!' thought Tilly. "There was a moth!" she explained, then repeated a similar action, swatting the air around her. "Urgh!" she cried, pretending to try to avoid it. She stopped and looked at them. "Are you two ok?"  
Maddie smiled back, giving her the answer.

"I'll go back in the bus tonight then..." Tilly whispered.  
"Thanks Tills!" Maddie replied, her face beaming. Chris turned to her and smiled. So she left them standing there, not remotely worried about the details of their reconciliation. As she went into the corridor she heard the others coming back up the drive. She ducked out the back door quickly before they could catch her. She didn't want to talk to them, she had her own life to concerntrate on now...

Tilly launched herself through the door of the bus. It was dark. She knew it was really late. But better late than never she thought, and it seemed so very true that night. She closed the door behind her and leaned on it, breathing a heavy sigh. This felt like coming home. The bus was a sanctuary, away from all the bullshit of her friends, the rest of the world. She saw Jen's note saying to wake her and she smiled. She had finally made it. She looked over to the bed and saw Jen in the light of the moon through the skylight, her eyes adjusting to the dark room. What a day! What a nightmare! Once she saw Jen none of that mattered anymore, it was all worth it.

Jen was half under the covers, lying on her back, her foot and leg sticking out. Tilly smiled, finally feeling happy. She walked over to the foot of the bed and leaned down, placing a very gentle kiss on the top of Jen's foot, then slowly moved her kisses up her leg. She tasted salty, and Tilly smiled, Jen must have gone for a swim on her way home. Jen stirred but didn't wake, so Tilly climbed onto the bed, hovering over her, her kisses continuing. Tilly's eyes were closed, savouring every moment, it felt wonderful. She had been so close to not being able to do this at all, she was relishing every kiss, every touch.

Tilly pulled the cover back, as her kisses continued, leading up Jen's inner thigh, crossing over to the opposite side, grazing the front of her underwear with the tip of her fingers as she did so. Jen moaned sleepily, shifting her position slightly, so Tilly looked up and moved her own body up so it was suspended over Jen, close to her face to look at her. Tilly thought she looked really beautiful, sleeping peacefully in the moonlight. There were times during the evening that Tilly thought she would never make it back to the bus, and she felt incredibly lucky - she nearly didn't get to do this! It brought it home what they would have to give up tomorrow. She knew she had to make tonight count, and there was no time for sleeping.

Tilly dropped back down the bed and she continued kissing down Jen's stomach, before eventually settling at the foot of the bed, lying between her legs, kissing down to her inner thighs again. Jen let out another sleepy moan but was clueless as to what was really happening. She was so utterly exhausted from their week together she had dropped straight into a deep sleep. Tilly's kisses were now pulling her back into a lighter dream-like sleep. The negative head-space she had taken to bed had manifested itself as a stressful dream. Feelings of sadness, sorrow, regrets and goodbyes had given her a dream about deadlines and marking papers, but it was now fast becoming much more enjoyable. Visions of random artwork were morphing into people and faces, until they eventually turned into a blurred female form. As the haze lifted she could see it was Tilly, she was covering her in kisses, Jen sighed in her sleep, her dream muddled with reality.

Tilly gently pulled Jen's underwear down and then off. Jen mumbled something incoherent in response but still didn't wake fully, so Tilly dropped her kisses lower, pulling Jen's knees up either side of her face, as she settled down between them, aiming to wake Jen up the most pleasurable way she could think of. She gently lowered her lips down to her, and she heard Jen moan sleepily again, responding to Tilly delivering her the most intimate of kisses. As she continued, oblivious to the rest of the world, Tilly felt Jen move beneath her, pushing herself forwards, welcoming her. Jen's eyes were still closed, her dream taking on a life of its own, mirroring Tilly's real life movements in the most delicious way. Her subconscious was hard at work, magnifying each touch, increasing her body's response to it beyond what it would be if she was awake. All the while Tilly was completely occupied, lost in Jen, her only thought on making her feel good, moving her tongue over and around her, again and again, feeling how warm she was, how amazing she felt. After everything she had been through tonight, Tilly couldn't be happier than right now, wrapped up in Jen, reconnecting with her, breathing her, tasting her.

Jen stirred, the sensation was becoming too intense, she was inching closer to waking with every movement Tilly made. Tilly continued, completely focused on bringing Jen to the utmost peak of pleasure. She could tell she was incredibly close to it, only moments away, so she slowed down a little to let Jen savour it.

Jen involuntarily arched her body towards her, then her eyes snapped open, confused. She had been pulled from her sleep by the incredible feeling of it all, gasping for air. But to her surprise, somehow the dream carried on. In her half-sleep she was unsure of what was real and what wasn't. She felt a weight on her hips and she pulled herself together enough to run her hands down until they met Tilly's, her arms wrapped around under her thighs, hands resting on Jen's hip bones.  
"Holy shit!" she cried breathlessly, in shock, as she caught sight of Tilly in the moonlight, finally realising what was happening. She wasn't dreaming! She instinctively grabbed onto Tilly's hands tightly to steady herself, as the realisation took her the final distance and she felt a wave of pleasure suddenly pass through her. Her body arched again as she was enveloped by it, shuddering in ecstasy, her eyes closing once more. Unable to talk, unable to move, she lay there for a moment, clinging on to Tilly, pulsating slightly, letting the waves wash over her and then subside again. Eventually she caught her breath, then pulled Tilly's face up to meet her own.

"Wha...?" She breathed in disbelief, looking into Tilly's eyes, lost for words.

Tilly smiled "Sorry I'm late..."


End file.
